4 Ways to Get Control Over Your Blood Pressure

About half of all adults in the United States have high blood pressure (hypertension), according to the CDC, and shockingly, only about a quarter of those people have their hypertension under control. That means all of those women and men have elevated risks of serious complications, like stroke, heart attack, heart disease, and some types of dementia.

At STL Medical Weight Loss, Joseph Moleski, DO, and Margaurette Walsh, PA-C, help patients manage hypertension with lifestyle changes focused on improving overall wellness. In this post, learn four simple steps you can take to manage your blood pressure — and how we can help you reach that goal.

1. Quit smoking

Smoking isn’t just bad for your lungs and your heart — it takes a toll on your blood vessels, too. Specifically, some chemicals in tobacco smoke damage the lining of your blood vessels, “roughening” the interior and making it easier for cholesterol to stick to the surface. 

Over time, blood vessels narrow and stiffen, making it harder for blood to circulate. The result: Your heart needs to pump harder, and your vessels become less flexible, increasing the pressure inside your arteries and veins. 

Smoking also causes immediate increases in blood pressure and heart rate that last about half an hour. If you have hypertension, smoking makes some blood pressure medicines less effective while increasing your risks of heart attack and stroke associated with hypertension. If you smoke, you can find tips to help you quit on the SmokeFree.gov website.

2. Be more active

Research shows people who lead relatively sedentary lifestyles are also more likely to have hypertension and its complications compared to people who engage in regular physical activity. Being physically active improves your heart health and ramps up circulation to improve blood flow and blood vessel health.

Watching what you eat and being more active also help you keep extra pounds at bay. Being overweight adds pressure on your vessels and heart, making your heart work harder. Losing weight can be challenging, but our team offers custom weight management plans that can help you lose those pounds and keep them off.

3. Watch your diet

What you eat definitely has an impact on your health, including the health of your cardiovascular system. If you have hypertension or you want to avoid it, it’s imperative to watch your levels of sodium and unhealthy fats, limiting both wherever possible. Keep sugar consumption to a minimum, too.

Instead, focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy products to nourish your cardiovascular system and help manage high blood pressure. Our team can help with nutrition services tailored to your unique health needs, lifestyle, and food preferences for delicious — and healthy — meal planning.

4. Learn to manage stress

For many of us, stress can seem like a constant presence, whether we feel stressed out from work, relationships, or the goings-on in the world around us. While occasional anxiety is usually nothing to worry about, chronic, continual stress can definitely take a toll on your health, including elevating your blood pressure.

Stress releases hormones that are part of the fight-or-flight mechanism. If we’re in true danger, those hormones can be helpful. But if we’re just dealing with chronic stress, they can increase our heart rate and blood pressure — and over time, that can cause some serious damage. 

If you have hypertension, it’s important to learn ways to manage stress so you don’t put additional strain on your blood vessels and your cardiovascular system in general. Meditation, yoga, and taking up a relaxing hobby can help. You can also try these simple breathing exercises for on-the-go stress relief wherever possible.

Get your blood pressure under control

Blood pressure medication can absolutely play an important role in managing hypertension, but your lifestyle plays a big role, too. To learn how we can help you manage your blood pressure with diet, weight management, and more, call or book an appointment online with STL Medical Weight Loss at our locations in Chesterfield, Missouri, or Dallas, Texas, today. 

Can’t make it to the office? We also offer telehealth services for patients in Missouri, Texas, Illinois, Kansas, Florida, Delaware, Arizona, New York, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada, and Washington State.