High Blood Pressure Prevention

Smoking is particularly injurious for people with hypertension. The combination of hypertension and smoking greatly increases the risk of heart disease–related sickness and death. All people with high blood pressure need to quit smoking.

Consumption of more than about three alcoholic beverages per day appears to increase blood pressure. Whether one or two drinks per day meaningfully increases blood pressure remains unclear.

Daily exercise can lower blood pressure significantly. A 12-week program of Chinese T’ai Chi was reported to be almost as effective as aerobic exercise in lowering blood pressure. Progressive resistance exercise (e.g., weight lifting) also appears to help reduce blood pressure. At the same time, blood pressure has been known to increase significantly during the act of lifting heavy weights; for this reason, people with sharply elevated blood pressure, especially those with cardiovascular disease, should approach heavy strenuous resistance exercise with caution. In general, people over 40 years of age should consult with their doctors before starting any exercise regimen.

Most people with high blood pressure are overweight. Weight loss lowers blood pressure significantly in those who are both overweight and hypertensive. In fact, reducing body weight by as little as ten pounds can lead to a significant reduction in blood pressure. Weight loss appears to have a stronger blood pressure-lowering effect than dietary salt restriction.