Treatment of hypertension
There is no cure for high blood pressure. However, treatment can lower blood pressure that is too high. If it is mild, it can be controlled by changing to a healthier lifestyle.
Additional lifestyle changes can also help lower and control blood pressure. These include:
Maintaining a healthy weight Maintaining a healthy weight can help control high blood pressure and keep other complications at bay.
What's more, reducing weight by as little as 3 to 5 percent can help lower the risk of health problems associated with high blood pressure.
Exercise Regular exercise can keep weight under control, as well as help lower blood pressure.
The AHA recommends an average of 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity three or four times a week to lower blood pressure.
Limit alcohol consumption Alcohol can raise blood pressure, even if you don't have hypertension, so everyone should control their alcohol intake.
Healthy women of all ages and men over 65 should limit themselves to one drink a day, while men 65 and younger should limit themselves to two drinks a day.
No smoking While smoking is a proven risk factor for heart problems such as heart attack and stroke, scientists are still trying to understand its link to high blood pressure. Both smoking and secondhand smoke exposure increase the risk of developing plaque inside the arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis, in which high blood pressure accelerates.
Smoking also causes a temporary increase in blood pressure.
Ask your doctor for tips on quitting smoking, as well as researching smoking cessation drugs and devices to help you break your nicotine addiction.
Stress management The link between stress and high blood pressure is still under investigation, but stress is known to contribute to hypertension risk factors such as poor diet and excessive alcohol consumption.
In addition, the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol cause the heart to beat faster and blood vessels to constrict in preparation for a "fight or flight" response. This raises blood pressure temporarily, but scientists are still studying whether chronic stress can affect blood pressure over the long term.
Learning to deal with stress, relaxation and coping can improve your emotional and physical health.
The following ways can help you better cope with stress:
Practice relaxation techniques such as yoga, deep breathing and meditation, which not only help you relax, but also temporarily lower blood pressure
Enough sleep (seven to nine hours per night)
Exercise
Listening to music or focusing on something quiet and peaceful
Medicines
Sometimes diet and lifestyle changes may not be enough to deal with high blood pressure and medication is necessary. There are many blood pressure medications, known as antihypertensive drugs, available by prescription. Some of the most common include:
Diuretics This helps the body get rid of excess salt and water and helps control blood pressure.
Beta-blockers They reduce the heart rate and workload of the heart, which in turn lowers blood pressure.
ACE inhibitors Also known as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, they help the body produce less of the chemical angiotensin, which causes narrowing of the arteries. These drugs help blood vessels relax and open, which lowers blood pressure.
Calcium channel blockers They prevent calcium from entering the muscle cells of the heart and arteries. This also helps blood vessels relax and open, which lowers blood pressure.
Alpha-blockers These reduce arterial resistance and relax muscular tension in the vessel walls.
Central agonists This helps reduce the ability of blood vessels to tighten and contract, thus helping to lower blood pressure.
Some of these drugs can be taken in combination to treat hypertension. Your doctor will work with you to find the treatment plan that is best for you.
For many people, taking more than one drug in small doses may be more effective in treating high blood pressure than taking larger doses of a single drug.
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