Blood pressure is the force that pushes blood from your heart throughout your body. If your blood pressure is too high, you may have a heart attack, a stroke or kidney failure. You can lower your chance of having one of these health problems by taking a few simple steps to keep your blood pressure in the normal range:
Exercise regularly
You should exercise for 15 to 45 minutes at least three times every week. If you need to lose weight, you should exercise more often and for a longer time. The best kind of exercise is aerobic. Aerobic exercise uses your large muscles. Walking briskly, swimming, jogging and cross-country skiing are examples of aerobic exercise. Before and after you exercise, you should do mild physical activities to warm up and cool down. Stretching the muscles you will be using during the exercise may be helpful.
Lower your salt use
Eating foods that have too much salt in them and using too much salt at the table can raise your blood pressure. You might try taking the salt shaker away from the dining table and use table salt only when you prepare food.
Limit the amount of alcohol you drink
Alcohol will raise your blood pressure. Do not drink more than two beers, two glasses of wine or two mixed drinks a day. Remember, these amounts of alcoholic beverages are equal in alcoholic strength: 24 ounces of beer = 8 ounces of wine = 2 ounces of 100-proof whiskey.
Maintain ideal body weight
The more you weigh above your ideal body weight, the harder your heart has to work to pump blood. By losing weight, you can lower your blood pressure.
Reduce fat intake
You should also limit the amount of fat and cholesterol you eat every day. Eat more foods that are high in calcium, such as allowed dairy products.
Stop smoking
If you smoke cigars or cigarettes, try to quit.