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High blood pressure (Hypertension) - Prevention

Alternative Names

Hypertension; HBP; Blood pressure - high

Prevention:

Adults over 18 should have their blood pressure checked routinely.

Lifestyle changes may help control your blood pressure:

Lose weight if you are overweight. Excess weight adds to strain on the heart. In some cases, weight loss may be the only treatment needed.
Exercise regularly. If possible, exercise for 30 minutes on most days.
Eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products while reducing total and saturated fat intake (the DASH diet is one way of achieving this kind of dietary plan). (See: Heart disease and diet)
Avoid smoking. (See: Nicotine withdrawal)
If you have diabetes, keep your blood sugar under control.
Do not consume more than 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks per day.
Try to manage your stress.

Follow your health care provider's recommendations to modify, treat, or control possible causes of secondary hypertension.

Monitoring blood pressure

Untreated hypertension

Lifestyle changes

DASH diet

High blood pressure tests

Exercise can lower blood pressure

Blood pressure check

Blood pressure

Reviewed last on: 7/15/2008
Alan Berger, MD, Assistant Professor, Divisions of Cardiology and Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7). Rockville, Md. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, US Department of Health and Human Services; August 2004. National Institutes of Health Publication No. 04-5230.

Kaplan NM. Systemic Hypertension: Therapy. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 41.

Wolff T, Miller T. Evidence for the reaffirmation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on screening for high blood pressure. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147:787-791.

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