Hypertension guide

High blood pressure or hypertension is among the leading causes of death. When you have high blood pressure, there are usually no serious signs of the illness. You will just know you have the condition, once other ailments (more grave and serious) like cognitive decline, kidney failure, stroke and heart attack start to occur. Medications can be taken to lower hypertension; but these artificial and chemical drugs can cause unwanted adverse effects. Learn to naturally lower your BP through the use of some practical cures.

Do The Power Walk/Exercise
Brisk walking or any appropriate exercise is an effective way to lower hypertension. When you exercise, you promote your heart's efficient use of oxygen. With this, your heart will not need to work extra hard just to pump blood. A cardio workout for about 30 minutes a day can lower BP.

Deep and slow breathing along with meditative practices like yoga, qigong or tai chi can help decrease hormones associated with stress: rennin. This hormone is said to raise your blood pressure. Learn to breathe properly and deeply so you can inhale more oxygen and release your tension.

Control Salt Intake
The elders, those with family background of hypertension and those with African American bloodline are said to experience high blood pressure that are sodium or salt related. To lower hypertension, you must learn to control and lower your consumption of salt. If possible, skip using the saltshaker to make your foods taste more intensely. Watch out also from processed foods laden with too much salt.

Skip Smoking And Drinking
If you are smoking, you are even more prone to hypertension. Smoking itself might not be a direct factor that increases blood pressure (but other vices associated with it like alcohol drinking), but it is helpful if you can skip the habit so you will not be prompted on performing other vices leading to hypertension.

Drinking too much alcohol is the culprit of hypertension. If you must drink, make sure you drink only moderately (about one drink only per day for women and twice a day for men). Moderate drinking can be good for the heart, but too much can only lead to raised blood pressure.

Eat Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate has flavonols that make your blood vessels more elastic. Eat 0.5 ounce dark chocolates that contain a minimum of 70% cocoa.

Eat Potatoes
Eating potatoes and other potassium-loaded vegetables and fruits is very important in reducing hypertension. Other potassium sources are sweet potatoes, orange juice, tomatoes, kidney beans, bananas, cantaloupe and honeydew.

Load Up On Garlic
Garlic has been shown in various studies as effective in reducing hypertension. You can consume garlic in many different ways. You can use them to sauté your vegetables. You can toast some chopped garlic cloves and use them to top on your soups and pastas. You can also roast some bread with garlic spread on it. If you want a more potent application, you can chew on some fresh garlic to lower hypertension.

Blood Pressure Truth offers a natural method for lowering high blood pressure. Blood Pressure Miracle is another recommended e-book on how to lower hypertension naturally.

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High blood pressure medications fall into various categories. And, each category is designed to tackle a specific symptom of hypertension.

One of the more popular categories of hypertension medications is diuretics. Some people refer to diuretics as water pills. This is because when you take them, they help the body to rid itself of the excess water, along with salt, in the body. It is the getting rid of the salt that helps to lower the blood pressure.

There are various types of diuretics. One of the problems of diuretics is that, although they are very successful in eliminating excess salt from the body, many will also eliminate potassium. And, potassium is very successful in helping the body to manage the blood pressure. When you lose potassium, your blood pressure levels generally go up. Fortunately, there are some diuretics that will not force the body to excrete potassium. If you have a choice, it's often better to use this type.

Even though they can be effective, diuretics are not for everyone. In some patients, they will trigger dizziness or disorientation. A more serious side effect can be arrhythmia. So, if this is the first time you are taking a diuretic, you need to monitor your symptoms carefully and notify your doctor of any troubling reactions.

Another common symptom is muscle cramps. This is primarily due to the loss of potassium through frequent urination. Normally, this can be resolved by either switching to a medication that does not drain potassium from your body, or by simply increasing the number of high potassium foods in your diet.

A percentage of people are actually allergic to most diuretics. This is because many of them are sulfa based and a large percentage of the population has sulfa allergies.

The trickiest thing about diuretic based hypertension drugs is getting the dose right. Your doctor will probably start you on a lower dosage and adjust it based on feedback from blood pressure tests. In addition, except in mild hypertension cases, diuretics will often be combined with other types of medications.

Since this type of medication relies on removing salt from the body, you can often hasten its effectiveness by simply limiting the salt in your diet.

Medications used to control high blood pressure are highly individualized. And, not all medications work for all patients. Because of this, you should never stop taking your medication or change it on your own. Always talk any changes over with your doctor first.

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