Maintaining a Healthy Blood Pressure:Fighting Heart Disease

High blood pressure (HBP) is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease (also called coronary artery disease), heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and other health problems. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), one out of three U.S. adults (31.3%) has HPB. High blood pressure was the primary or contributing cause of death for 326,000 Americans in 2006. In 2010, high blood pressure cost the United States $76.6 billion in health care services, medications, and missed days of work. 25% of American adults have prehypertension (PHT) (blood pressure numbers that are higher than normal, but not yet in the HBP range. PHT raises your risk for high blood pressure). HBP has been labeled as the silent killer, due to the fact that there are no warning signs or symptoms for this disease. Most people are not aware that they have high blood pressure until it's too late.
BP is written as two numbers. The first (systolic) number represents the pressure in your blood vessels when your heart beats. The second (diastolic) number represents the pressure in your vessels when your heart rests between beats.
BP Levels:
Normal systolic: less than 120 mmHgdiastolic: less than 80mmHg
At risk (prehypertension) systolic: 120-139 mmHgdiastolic: 80-89 mmHg
High systolic: 140 mmHg or higherdiastolic: 90 mmHg or higher
The exact causes of HBP remain unknown; however, a number of factors are believed to contribute to this deadly disease. Several factors and conditions may play a role in its development, including:
• smoking
• Being overweight or obese
• Lack of physical activity
• Too much salt in the diet
• Too much alcohol consumption (more than 1 to 2 drinks per day)
• Stress
• Older age
• Genetics
• Family history of high blood pressure
• Chronic kidney disease
• Adrenal and thyroid disorders
Who Is More Likely to Develop HBP?
• People with family members who have HBP.
• People who smoke.
• African-Americans.
• Women who are pregnant.
• Women who take birth control pills.
• People over the age of 35.
• People who are overweight or obese.
• People who are not active.
• People who drink alcohol excessively.
• People who eat too many fatty foods or foods with too much salt.
The best approach to fighting HBP is prevention. Watching your diet, getting plenty of exercising, limiting stress (See our article GABA: The Natural Alternative to Benzodiazepines), adequate sleep, normal weight, and not smoking (or quitting).
HBP does not discriminate against age. Hypertension in children is hard to diagnose due to the fluctuation in their BP as they grow. Children with hypertension tend to have underlying medical conditions. However, close to 19% of young adults may have high blood pressure, and just half of them are aware of it despite this condition's strong link to heart attack and stroke risk, according to a new study.
"There is a sleeping epidemic among young adults," says study researcher Kathleen Mullan Harris, PhD, the interim director of the University of North Carolina's Carolina Population Center in Chapel Hill. "We tend to think of them as a rather healthy group, but a prevalence of 19% with hypertension is alarming."
Aside from the health risks associate with HBP, medical costs are another side effect of this deadly disease. As stated above, HBP cost the United States $76.6 billion dollars in medical costs. The average cost of care for a patient up to 90 days after suffering a stroke is $15,000. Heart attacks on average can cost as much as $250,000 (without surgery).
Again, prevention is the key. There are numerous things that can be done to prevent HBP such as:
• Changes in diet (limiting salt, fats, cholesterol, refined sugars, and increasing fiber intake)
• Daily exercise (at least 20 minutes daily)
• Shedding excess pounds (avoid diet pills, instead increase exercise, see changes in diet above)
• Ceasing smoking (smoking can greatly increase your risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as increase blood pressure)
• Getting adequate sleep (at least 8 hours per night)
• Reducing stress (stress plays a major role in developing high blood pressure)
• Ceasing or reducing alcohol consumption (less than 1 - 2 daily, limit alcoholic beverages to a few per week at most)
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Listening to soothing music
• All natural supplementation
There are numerous prescription drugs on the market which help control high blood pressure, but these are expensive, dangerous, and have a substantial list of side effects ranging from minor to severe, including stroke and death, which is the very reason for wanting to lower your blood pressure. All natural supplementation removes the possibility of these deadly side effects and of harmful toxicity caused by their chemical makeup. However, if you are currently taking ACE inhibitors for HBP, talk to your doctor about natural health alternatives. Never stop taking any medication before seeking medical advice.
Natural supplementation can be as simple as supplementing with potassium, magnesium, calcium, and many other vitamins, minerals, and herbs. There are numerous blends available that include several natural necessities to help reduce or maintain a normal BP. Some of the most trusted blends include: Michael's Blood Pressure Factors, and New Chapter Blood Pressure Take Care, just to name a few.
While supplementation can help lower high or maintain normal blood pressure numbers, the most important thing to do is exercise daily, eat a more balanced healthy diet, and reduce stress, just to name a few.
The importance of maintaining a normal blood pressure or lowering high blood pressure cannot be stressed enough. Be sure to monitor your blood pressure regularly. Home BP monitors are available for under $50, such as Panasonic EW3106W Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor (White), Omron BP629 Intellisense Advanced Averaging 60 Memory Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor Bundle, and many more.
Take back control of your health by learning more about natural health alternatives today.

Robert Pugh is the webmaster/owner of The Rx Alternative, a website devoted to home remedies, green products, and natural health alternatives to prescription drugs. Through The Rx Alternative Robert speaks out against prescription drugs and their overuse, abuse, addiction, toxicity, deadly side effects, and the manner in which they are overly prescribed, even when not needed.