Is Your Blood Pressure Healthy ?

It’s thought that around 30% of people have high blood pressure, and many don’t even know it. Though more than half of them are over 60, a large number are younger. Could you be one of them? High blood pressure is common and often has no symptoms.

Check your blood pressure

The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked. Health professionals such as nurses, pharmacists and GPs can check your blood pressure with a simple test.

High blood pressure increases your risk of having a heart attack or stroke, but there are things you can do to lower your blood pressure.

Keeping blood pressure healthy

“There are lots of different ways you can have a significant impact on your blood pressure,” says Dr Mike Mead, a GP in Leicester. “Reducing your blood pressure can make a massive difference to your health. It can prevent you from having a stroke or heart attack. There are so many benefits to making sure your blood pressure stays at a reasonable level.”

The following steps towards a healthier lifestyle will help lower your blood pressure and keep it at a healthy level.

Exercise

Do at least 30 minutes of exercise five times a week, such as walking, dancing, cycling, or swimming. If you’re not used to exercising, don’t start too quickly. Talk to your doctor about how much exercise will suit you, and build up slowly.

walking
cycling
swimming
running
You can find out more about health and fitness, including 10-minute home workouts.

Healthy eating

A healthy, balanced diet will help reduce your blood pressure. A healthy diet includes eating:

less salt
less saturated fat
five portions of fruit and vegetables a day
Aim to eat no more than 6g of salt a day. Don’t add salt to food. Read food labels when you’re shopping to help you buy healthier foods. Many foods, including breakfast cereals, bread, and soup contain added salt.

Saturated fat is found in butter, ghee, lard, meat pies, fatty meat, sausages, cakes, biscuits, and food containing coconut oil or palm oil.

“Many people know to avoid butter because it’s high in saturated fat, but if you have three biscuits with your morning coffee, you’re still getting saturated fat,” says Dr Mead.

Fruit and vegetables are good for health, whether they’re fresh, tinned, frozen, dried or in juice.

Lose weight

Exercising and eating healthily will help you lose weight. Obesity increases your risk of high blood pressure, so it’s important to be a healthy weight.

Limit your alcohol intake

The recommended healthy limits for alcohol are:

no more than three to four units a day for men
no more than two to three units a day for women
One unit of alcohol is roughly half a pint of regular-strength lager or a 125ml glass of wine.

Regularly drinking more than the recommended daily limits puts you at risk of a number of health problems, including high blood pressure.

Smoking

Although smoking doesn’t cause high blood pressure, it raises the risk of heart disease. Stopping smoking reduces this risk, and is especially important if you have high blood pressure.