How to lower blood pressure quickly:
High blood pressure or hypertension is a disease that affects one-third of the population. Discover how to lower blood pressure quickly naturally.
We all worry about our blood pressure and that is, having high blood pressure or hypertension, as well as low blood pressure or hypotension, can have repercussions for our health. For this reason, we want to show you everything you need to know about blood pressure, including what your normal blood pressure is.
What is blood pressure
Blood pressure or blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood on the walls of the arteries. This can be: higher, called systolic pressure, when the heart pumps into the arteries, and lower, the diastolic pressure, between one beat of the heart and another.
These two values, the systolic and the diastolic, are the ones used to measure blood pressure. If when measuring these values we have high blood pressure or hypertension, it can pose a significant risk of serious diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, or kidney failure, among others. On the other hand, when blood pressure is low, or hypotension, it is not as dangerous for health but it also causes symptoms such as confusion, vertigo, fainting, dizziness, drowsiness, and weakness.
What is normal blood pressure
In all blood pressure monitors, two values appear when measuring blood pressure: the first is equivalent to the systolic or high blood pressure and the second to the diastolic or low blood pressure. We can consider normal blood pressure when the values obtained range between 60/90 and 90/130 mm of mercury [1]. When suffering from hypotension, a drop of about 20 mm of mercury occurs over these usual values. Instead, when exceeding 140/90 mm of mercury, we can consider high blood pressure or hypertension.
Many causes can cause hypertension, such as aging, stress, or suffering from heart disease. Besides, blood pressure values do not remain unchanged throughout the day but fluctuate.
How to lower blood pressure quickly
Making some changes in your lifestyle habits can help you lower blood pressure, thus reducing the risk of heart disease. This way you can avoid or reduce the need to take medicine to treat high blood pressure.
Reduce excess weight
People who are overweight often have high blood pressure, as well as cause sleep apnea. As a consequence, your blood pressure increases.
Losing weight is essential to control blood pressure, but you should also take care of your waist area. In the case of men, if you measure more than 102 centimeters they will have a higher risk of high blood pressure. Women are at the same risk if their waist measurement is greater than 89 centimeters.
Do physical exercise daily
Regular activity helps us maintain normal blood pressure and contributes to lowering it when it is high. Besides, you must be constant, because if you stop exercising it will rise again.
Some of the aerobic activities that you can do to reduce blood pressure are: swimming, running, walking, cycling, or dancing. Another option is to combine high-intensity intervals with periods of lighter activity. Strength training, at least two days a week, helps lower blood pressure.
Maintain a healthy diet
Diet is essential if we want to have normal blood pressure. Eat plenty of whole grains, fruits, low-fat dairy products, vegetables, and reduce saturated fat.
It is not easy to change the diet, but try to control what you eat, how much you eat it, and why and you will realize that many products harm you and you do not need them. You can take foods with a lot of potassium to reduce the effects of sodium on blood pressure. You will find it, especially in fruits and vegetables.
Reduce sodium in your diet
Reducing sodium from your diet can improve your heart health and therefore reduce high blood pressure. To do this, read food labels and choose those low in sodium.
Be careful when adding salt to your meals, do it in moderation, and reduce the amount gradually. Also, it will help you maintain normal blood pressure to eat less processed products since most of them add sodium.
Beware of alcohol consumption
If you drink alcohol in moderation you can reduce blood pressure significantly. However, that protective effect disappears when too much alcohol is ingested. In this case, you can increase and decrease the effectiveness of high blood pressure medications at the same time.
stop smoking
Smoking is harmful to our entire body, so quitting helps the blood pressure return to normal. It also reduces the risk of heart disease and improves the health of your body in general.
Reduce stress
Stress can also contribute to high blood pressure, especially if it makes you eat unhealthy products, smoke, or drink alcohol. Think about what is causing your stress and try to fix the problem.
Some tips to achieve this are:
- Understand that there are things you cannot change, so think about how to react to them.
- Focus on the problems you can control and think about how to solve them.
- Avoid situations and people that stress you whenever possible.
- Take some time to relax and do activities for your enjoyment.
- Expressing gratitude can help you reduce stress.
