Hypertension

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Blood pressure	Blood pressure check	DASH diet	Exercise can lower blood pressure
High blood pressure tests	Lifestyle changes	Monitoring blood pressure	Untreated hypertension

High blood pressure

Lifestyle changes may help control high 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 to help your heart.
• Adjust your diet as needed. Decrease fat and sodium -- salt, MSG, and baking soda all contain sodium. Increase fruits, vegetables, and fiber.

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

Wang Y, Wang QJ. The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension among US adults according to the new joint national committee guidelines: new challenges of the old problem. Arch Intern Med. 2004;164(19):2126-34.

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. 

Eyre H, Kahn R, Robertson RM, et al. Preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes: A common agenda for the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2004;109(25):3244-55.

Whelton PK, He J, Appel LJ, et al. Primary prevention of hypertension: Clinical and public health advisory from The National High Blood Pressure Education Program. JAMA. 2002;288(15):1882-8.

Review Date: 06/13/2005
Reviewed By: Nader Najafian, M.D., Associate Physician, Renal Division, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Instructor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.