High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Hypertension is described as blood pressure greater than 140/90mmHg gotten on two separate readings, at least four hours apart. Complications of hypertension include coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and other health problems.
The major risk factors of hypertension are obesity (BMI greater than 30kg/m2), smoking, alcohol, food high in salt content (especially in blacks). Healthy lifestyle remains the most important factor to reduce the risk of being hypertensive. These factors include;
Healthy Diet: Eating healthy food can help you avoid high blood pressure and its complications. Your choice of food should include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, low salt (sodium) intake and diet low in cholesterol.
Adequate Exercise: Adequate exercise helps maintain a healthy weight and lower blood pressure. This refers to a brisk exercise for at least 3 day in a week, each lasting for at least 30 minutes.
Maintain Healthy Weight:Being overweight or obese can increase high blood pressure. Keep BMI between 18 and 24.9kg/m2. To determine if your weight is in a healthy range, we provide free BMI checks (using your weight and height).
Reduced Alcohol Intake: Drinking excessive amount of alcohol can actually raise blood pressure. It can also reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medication.
Quit smoking: Smoking raises blood pressure and puts one at higher risk for heart attack and stroke. If you do not smoke, do not start. If you do smoke, quitting will lower your risk for heart disease.
Most importantly,Know Your Numbers. Monitoring your blood pressure can help you keep tabs. Monitoring your blood pressure can also be done at home. Blood pressure monitors are available widely and without a prescription. You can talk to our doctors about home monitoring before you get started. At Royal Victoria Medical Centre we also provide free blood pressure check at our clinic in Abuja,Nigeria.
Home monitoring can help you keep tabs on your blood pressure, make certain your lifestyle changes are working, and alert you and your doctor to potential health complications. You can consult our doctors for any blood pressure above 140/90mmHg.
Hypertension is becoming a great burden to our society with several complications attached, hence the importance of living a healthy lifestyle with regular blood pressure checks, to reduce its incidence cannot be overemphasized.
