Blood Pressure: The Effects on Diet and Exercise

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Blood Pressure The Effects on Diet and
Exercise

• Jennifer Holder

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What is high blood pressure?

• Systolic Pressure
• Diastolic Pressure
• High blood pressure directly increases the risk
  of coronary heart disease (which leads to heart
  attack) and stroke, especially when it's
  present with other risk factors.

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Who is at risk?

• Controllable risk factors
• Obesity  People with a body mass index (BMI) of
  30.0 or higher are more likely to develop high
  blood pressure.
• Eating too much salt  A high sodium intake
  increases blood pressure in some people.
• Drinking too much alcohol  Heavy and regular use
  of alcohol can increase blood pressure
  dramatically.
• Lack of physical activity  An inactive lifestyle
  makes it easier to become overweight and
  increases the chance of high blood pressure.
• Stress  this is often mentioned as a risk
  factor, but stress levels are hard to measure,
  and responses to stress vary from person to
  person.

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Who is at risk?

• Uncontrollable risk factors
• Race  Blacks develop high blood pressure more
  often than whites, and it tends to occur earlier
  and be more severe.
• Heredity  If your parents or other close blood
  relatives have high blood pressure, you're more
  likely to develop it.
• Age  In general, the older you get, the greater
  your chance of developing high blood pressure. It
  occurs most often in people over age 35. Men seem
  to develop it most often between age 35 and 55.
  Women are more likely to develop it after
  menopause.

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Statistics

• High blood pressure (hypertension) was listed on
  death certificates as the primary cause of death
  of 54,707 Americans in 2004. It was listed as a
  primary or contributing cause of death in about
  300,000 of the more than 2.4 million U.S. deaths
  in 2004
• About 73 million American adults age 20 and older
  have high blood pressure.
• Nearly one in three U.S. adults has high blood
  pressure.
• More than 40 percent of African Americans have
  high blood pressure.
• 28 percent of people with high blood
  pressure don't know they have it.
• Of all people with high blood pressure 71.8
  percent are aware of their condition, 61.4
  percent are under current treatment, 35.1 percent
  have it under control and 64.9 percent do not
  have it under control.

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Ways to prevent or control high blood pressure

• Keep a healthy weight. Being overweight adds to
  your risk of high blood pressure. Ask your doctor
  if you need to lose weight.
• Exercise every day. Moderate exercise can lower
  your risk of heart disease. Try to exercise at
  least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week or more.
  Check with your doctor before starting a new
  exercise plan if you have a long-term health
  problem or if you are a man over 40 or a woman
  over 50.
• Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and
  low-fat dairy foods. A healthy diet is important.
  To control high blood pressure, eat a diet rich
  in these foods. Make sure you are getting enough
  potassium. Fresh fruits and vegetables are high
  in potassium. If using packaged foods, read the
  nutrition labels to choose those that have more
  potassium.
• Cut down on salt and sodium. Most Americans eat
  more salt and sodium than they need. A low-salt
  diet might help lower your blood pressure. Talk
  with your doctor about your salt intake.
• Drink less alcohol. Drinking alcohol can affect
  your blood pressure. The effect is different
  depending on body size. As a general rule, men
  shouldnt have more than two drinks a day women
  not more than one drink a day.
• Follow your doctors orders. If lifestyle changes
  alone do not control your high blood pressure,
  your doctor may tell you to take blood pressure
  pills. You may need to take your medicine for the
  rest of your life. If you have questions about
  it, talk to your doctor.

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The effects of exercise

• Regular physical activity makes your heart
  stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood
  with less effort. And the less your heart has to
  work, the less force, or pressure, that's exerted
  on your arteries. The resting heart rate of those
  who exercise is also slower because less effort
  is needed to pump blood
• Becoming more active can lower your blood
  pressure by an average of 10 millimeters of
  mercury (mm Hg). That's the same effect as some
  blood pressure medications. For some people, it's
  enough to reduce the need for blood pressure
  medication.

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Exercise

• People who exercise the most often and vigorously
  have the lowest risk for heart disease, but any
  exercise is beneficial. Studies consistently find
  that light to moderate exercise is even
  beneficial in people with existing heart disease.
• Anyone with coronary artery disease should seek
  medical advice before beginning a workout program
• Resistance (weight) training has also been
  associated with heart protection. It may offer a
  complementary benefit to aerobics by reducing LDL
  levels. Exercises that train and strengthen the
  chest muscles may prove to be very important for
  patients with angina
• Regular exercise helps keep arteries elastic,
  even in older people, which in turn ensures blood
  flow and normal blood pressure.
• Sedentary people have a 35 greater risk of
  developing hypertension than athletes do.

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How much should I exercise?

• American Heart Association recommended that
  individuals perform moderate-intense exercise for
  30 minutes on most days of the week. This
  recommendation supports similar exercise
  guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease
  Control and Prevention and the American College
  of Sports Medicine
• Some studies suggest that for the greatest heart
  protection, it is not the duration of a single
  exercise session that counts but the total daily
  amount of energy expended. Therefore, the best
  way to exercise may be in multiple short bouts of
  intense exercise, which can be particularly
  helpful for older people

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KEEP IT UP!

• It takes about one to three months for regular
  exercise to have a stabilizing effect on blood
  pressure. The benefits last only as long as you
  continue to exercise.

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The DASH eating plan

• "DASH" stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop
  Hypertension"
• Study results indicated that elevated blood
  pressures were reduced by an eating plan that
  emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy
  foods and is low in saturated fat, total fat, and
  cholesterol
• The DASH eating plan includes whole grains,
  poultry, fish, and nuts and has reduced amounts
  of fats, red meats, sweets, and sugared beverages

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Adopting the DASH eating plan

• Change gradually
• If you now eat one or two vegetables a day, add a
  serving at lunch and another at dinner.
• If you don't eat fruit now or have only juice at
  breakfast, add a serving to your meals or have it
  as a snack.
• Use only half the butter, margarine, or salad
  dressing you do now.
• Try lowfat or fat free condiments, such as fat
  free salad dressings.
• Gradually increase dairy products to three
  servings per day. For example, drink milk with
  lunch or dinner, instead of soda, alcohol, or
  sugar-sweetened tea. Choose lowfat (1 percent) or
  fat free (skim) dairy products to reduce total
  fat intake.

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Meat

• Treat meat as one part of the whole meal,
• instead of the focus.
• Buy less meat. If it's not there, you won't eat
  it
• Limit meat to 6 ounces a day (two servings)--all
  that's needed. Three to four ounces is about the
  size of a deck of cards.
• If you now eat large portions of meat, cut them
  back gradually--by a half or a third at each
  meal.
• Include two or more vegetarian-style (meatless)
  meals each week.
• Increase servings of vegetables, rice, pasta, and
  dry beans in meals. Try casseroles and pasta, and
  stir-fry dishes, having less meat and more
  vegetables, grains, and dry beans.

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Fruits and lowfat foods

• Fruits and lowfat foods offer great taste and
  variety. Use fruits canned in their own juice.
  Fresh fruits require little or no preparation.
  Dried fruits are easy to carry with you.
• Try these snack ideas unsalted pretzels or nuts
  mixed with raisins graham crackers lowfat and
  fat free yogurt and frozen yogurt plain popcorn
  with no salt or butter added and raw vegetables.

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For more on the DASH Diet

• http//dashdiet.org