A cousin was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure and since she is in her early 40s, I thought it was a pretty young age to be having this condition. But her doctor did not seem to share my opinion on this because he told her that it was expected since she led a very stressful life.
She is a journo and works for the electronic media. Her lifestyle involves late nights and a lot of rushing around to meet deadlines and prepare for newshour. Stress hounds her all the time and even in sleep, she says, she feels weighed down. There is a lot of tossing and turning. Unfortunately, she has never cared much about a proper diet or getting some exercise in. Rushing around is second nature to her and her meals are also in a huge rush… a bite here or a takeaway there. Walking doesn't come easily to her and so she was a fit candidate for hypertension.
Her doctor insisted that she got really strict with her diet and immediately starts working out. He, of course, prescribed drugs to regulate her blood pressure.
That was an awakening call for her! It scared the living daylights out of her and she has gone berserk with her diet and fitness regime.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is more often a lifestyle disease and afflicts those who tend to ignore their mental and physical health. If ignored and untreated, hypertension can lead to complications such as heart attack, stroke, irregular heart rhythm, heart failure and renal damage.
Fortunately, this can be controlled and in the long term may not even require medications if you get your life in order and avoid stress of all kinds. Weight loss, exercise and reducing salt intake can help lower blood pressure. A healthy, low-fat, low-sodium diet and regular exercise, such as walking for 30 minutes a day, is a good way of managing hypertension. Also to be kept in mind are limited alcohol intake, giving up smoking and reducing stress.
Meditation, done best early in the morning, is known to calm frayed nerves and bring stress levels down. This regulates the blood pressure. Yoga is another effective way of controlling hypertension. According to the American Yoga Association, it can reduce high blood pressure, especially the diastolic pressure which is very crucial.
However, whichever measure you may adopt, it is always advisable to seek your doctor’s opinion on that.
People have known to take medications and yet not found any change in their condition because their lifestyle has continued to stay the same. But medication is not the only way to manage hypertension.
Adopting healthier habits is the key to it.