If you develop high blood pressure while taking prednisone, your healthcare provider may recommend starting blood pressure medication to help. Lifestyle changes can be implemented to help prevent high blood pressure. Eating a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats can help with maintaining a health weight. It also helps to limit the total amount of salt in your diet. It is recommended to limit your salt intake 2 grams or 2000 milligrams sodium per day. This includes the sodium that naturally occurs in food, salt added during processing, and any salt you add to your foods. Try these tips to help reduce your overall salt intake:

• Keep saltshakers off of the table and avoid adding salt after you're done cooking.
• Cook with other herbs and spices that don't have salt added to them, such as black pepper, oregano, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and any spice blend without sodium.
• When purchasing canned or processed foods, choose those labeled low sodium or no salt added.
• Read the label to see how many milligrams of sodium it has per serving and the serving size.
• Rinse can foods to help remove a lot of the extra salt that is added during processes to help preserve the food.

If you are being weaned off of prednisone and are taking medications to help lower your blood pressure, be sure to discuss the effect the changes in prednisone could have on your blood pressure and monitor for the symptoms of low blood pressure. Symptoms of low blood pressure can include:

• Dizziness or feeling lightheaded
• Nausea
• Fainting
• Poor concentration
• Cold, clammy feeling
• Blurred vision

Key Takeaways: If you are taking Prednisone to help with either an acute or chronic condition, it is important to know how this medication could affect your blood pressure. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to the development of other chronic health conditions or severe health events like a heart attack or stroke. If you develop any of the signs or symptoms of high blood pressure you should contact your healthcare provider and seek medical attention. Lifestyle changes can help to prevent the development of high blood pressure. Research supports weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight lowers the risk of developing high blood pressure. The amount of salt in the diet affects fluid balance. Try to limit salt intake or 2 grams (2,000 milligrams) per day.