How To Lower High Blood Pressure?

What is hypertension?

The heart pushes blood through the arteries with a force called blood pressure. A blood pressure reading of 120/80 mm Hg is normal. A reading higher than this indicates high blood pressure. People often refer to high blood pressure as a silent killer. It often shows no symptoms. The simple cure for high blood pressure is its management.

How To Lower Blood Pressure Fast?

1. Drink cold water to dilute your blood; this way, the blood will not exert as much pressure on your arteries.
2. Take your prescribed B.P. medication as directed by your healthcare provider if you have missed a dose or have not taken it yet.
3. Lie down straight on your back. Do not use a pillow. This pose will lower blood pressure instantly.
4. Take deep breaths to reduce high blood pressure fast.
5. Drink hibiscus tea to lower B.P. fast. It is one of the foods that reduces blood pressure immediately.

These are some natural ways to lower BP quickly.

Classification Of Different Measurements Of Blood Pressure:

What Are The Complications Of Hypertension?

If you do not manage hypertension and it remains at a high stage, it can lead to many complications, such as:

1. Kidney disease
2. Hardened arteries
3. Heart attack/stroke
4. Brain diseases
5. Haemorrhage in brain
6. Vision problems
7. Death

What Are The Various Causes Of Hypertension?

1. Persons with a family history of hypertension are more likely to develop it if their lifestyle is not active and healthy.
2. With an increase in age, the chances of developing hypertension increase.
3. Men are at higher risk than women. After menopause, the risk increases in women.
4. The heavier the individual, the higher the risk of developing hypertension.
5. High intake of sodium or factors that help retain sodium in the body increases the risk for hypertension.
6. Elevated blood sugar levels are a potent cause of increased chances of hypertension.
7.  Increased intake of saturated fats and high cholesterol levels in the body raise the chances of developing hypertension
8. Eating highly sugary foods or foods containing refined sugars predisposes a person to hypertension.
9. An inactive lifestyle, smoking, and drinking alcohol contribute to high blood pressure.
10.  Low calcium, magnesium, and potassium intake with high sodium intake in the diet causes high blood pressure.

Treatment And Prevention Of Hypertension:

“Prevention is better than cure” should be followed to address minor rises in blood pressure. If a person is not yet on hypertension medication, it is the best time to adopt a healthy diet regimen and an active lifestyle to control further complications. Make healthy changes in the diet and follow an active lifestyle. If medication has already started, precaution involves taking the medicine daily and adopting a healthy lifestyle to reduce the dosage over time. What Is The DASH Diet And How Can It Help In Managing Hypertension?

What Are The Various Lifestyle Modifications That A Person With High Blood Pressure Needs To Follow?

1. Proper Hydration: Maintain proper hydration to ensure an adequate blood volume. Any increase in blood volume can put unnecessary strain on the sensitive blood vessels. To maintain blood volume, mineral, and electrolyte balance needs to be achieved.
2. Avoid Sugar: Include healthy carbs like whole wheat flour, oatmeal, quinoa, barley, millets, cracked wheat (daliya), etc., in your diet to lower blood pressure quickly. Say “no” to sugar. Control sugar consumption to less than 2 tsp per day and quit the intake of any additional refined sugar. Use dates as a sweetener in smoothies and shakes instead of packaged refined sugar. Replace refined sugar with stevia in teas and other beverages. Avoid all packaged or canned fruits, fruit juices, cakes, pastries, cookies, soft drinks, etc.
3. Avoid Saturated Fat: saturated fat is present in clarified butter/ghee, butter, margarine, mayonnaise, refined oils, vanaspati ghee, etc. Hypertensive patients must incorporate healthy fats from olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds instead of using saturated fat. These healthy fats replace saturated fat in the body, helping to lower the fat load in the arteries. This ultimately lessens the load on our heart by pumping the blood with much effort.
4. Calcium-rich foods: Ensure daily calcium intake by consuming sufficient amounts of dairy products and green leafy vegetables. Limit daily sodium intake to 1-2 g/day.
5. Avoid Sodium: Sodium is found in many foods, like seafood, processed foods, canned and packaged foods. The primary source of sodium in our diet is table salt. Reduce consumption to less than 1500 mg/day. Recommend low-sodium foods such as wheat, rice, maize, jowar, bajra, ragi, sweet potatoes, gourds, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, etc. Avoid meat and eggs. Consume adequate amounts of diuretics.
6. Potassium-rich foods: Include potassium-rich foods in your daily diet to help lower high blood pressure. Such foods include coconut water, bananas, apples, etc.
7. Prevention Of Edema: If you notice swelling in the feet or stomach, which may be caused by fluid accumulation, restrict fluid intake. If the person is on diuretics (which cause excess urination), provide plain water to prevent dehydration.
8. Ideal body weight: In the case of obese people suffering from hypertension, achieving an ideal body weight is a must. More body weight means an extra workload for the heart and the arteries to pump blood to the different organs of your body. This increases blood pressure, developing hypertension. A high body weight, especially around your waistline, implies fat in your arteries. This fat will build over time and eventually lead to a heart stroke.
9. Smoking: People who are hypertensive and regular smokers are less likely to normalize their blood pressure. Smoking is a major factor contributing to high blood pressure. The only effective solution is to quit smoking completely. Reducing the quantity of smoking will not be sufficient to manage hypertension. Start by gradually reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke and work towards giving up the habit entirely.
10. Alcohol: Alcohol consumption is another major risk factor for hypertension. Control this habit and eliminate it over time. Avoid alcohol entirely. If consumed, women should limit their intake to one glass per week and men to no more than two glasses per week, especially if they are hypertensive.

What Is The DASH Diet And How Can It Help In Managing Hypertension?

People experiencing high blood pressure must adopt the DASH diet (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension). This diet advocates the intake of only fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, and low-fat dairy products. Be careful that in this diet, the total intake of saturated fat must be very little or negligible. The total fat intake must also be very low.

Homemade Drinks To Instantly Lower High Blood Pressure

Bhel ka sharbat: Take 1 ripe bhel fruit and scoop out its pulp in a blender jar. Now add 200 ml of plain water or coconut water to it and blend it. You may sieve it or drink it as it is. This will instantly give relief from headaches, cervical pains, and high blood pressure.

Gond katira Kachhi lassi is a traditional Indian recipe that has the magical properties of instantly cooling down body temperatures and relaxing our tensed muscles. Take 50 ml of low-fat milk and add 2-3 tsp. of overnight-soaked gond katira. Make up the volume to 200 ml by adding cold water to it. Drink it in the afternoon on hot summer days or during a high blood pressure attack.

Dates banana smoothie: Take 2 overnight soaked dates, 1 small banana, and 200 ml of coconut water. Blend them and consume them. This drink serves around 750 mg of potassium in a single shot, and as you know after reading this article, how important is potassium in managing high blood pressure? This smoothie serves as the best drink for hypertensive patients.

Conclusion:

There is no instant remedy to lower blood pressure quickly. A few tricks and home remedies can lower blood pressure instantly, but for a long-term solution, make the lifestyle modifications listed above. This disease must be managed with both drugs and food modification.

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