High blood pressure care tips

Sodium restriction is more effective than a blind vegetarian diet, dynamic monitoring is more reliable than a single pressure measurement, and moderate exercise is more cost-effective than sudden weight loss. The rest of the precautions are basically an extension and supplement of these three points. There is no need to memorize a bunch of fancy rules.

Don’t believe it. I met Aunt Zhang when I was doing follow-up work for chronic diseases in the community. She is almost 60 years old. After she was diagnosed with high blood pressure, she didn’t dare to touch even half a mouthful of fat. She even put a little olive oil in cooking. As a result, her blood pressure was stuck at 145/95m for three consecutive months. Her mHg couldn't be lowered. After asking about her diet carefully, she discovered that she had to eat two pieces of fermented bean curd with every porridge she had. She always grabbed a handful of shrimp skins to add freshness when making soup. Calculated, her daily sodium intake was more than twice the recommended amount. She ate a lot of "invisible" salt, which of course couldn't be reduced.

There are actually two different views on sodium control in the industry. One group is to strictly limit the total daily salt to no more than 5g, which is the amount of a beer bottle cap. The other group believes that there is no need to limit the number of grams of salt, and more attention should be paid to the sodium-potassium intake ratio. It is best to reach 2:1. Simply put, it means eating more. Order high-potassium foods such as fresh vegetables, bananas, and mushrooms. Even if you occasionally eat an extra bite of pickles, as long as the potassium is supplemented enough, the impact on blood pressure will be much smaller. Both methods have been proven to be effective. You can choose according to your own eating habits, and you don’t have to force yourself to eat bland or tasteless vegetables. Of course, you still need to pay more attention to the "invisible sodium" hidden in snacks and condiments. When buying packaged foods, scan the nutritional label. If the NRV% of sodium exceeds 30%, put as little as possible in the shopping cart. After all, the sodium in one mouthful of plums may be enough for you to fill half a plate of vegetables.

After talking about food, the easiest pitfall for many people is actually measuring blood pressure. Last month, a 28-year-old young man came to the clinic and said that his blood pressure soared to 150/90mmHg every time he had a physical examination. He thought he would need to take medication for life. However, he was put on a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor. His average blood pressure per day was only 128/82mmHg. He was a typical "white coat hypertension". He only got it when he saw the doctor being nervous, and there was no need to add medication at all.

Regarding the frequency and time of blood pressure measurement, different doctors have different habits: some will recommend that you take it every morning after fasting and emptying the bladder. The blood pressure at this time is not affected by activity or diet. It is suitable for elderly people who have stabilized blood pressure to observe the rules.； Some doctors will recommend that you randomly select 3 different time points every day to measure and take the average. This method is more suitable for people who have just adjusted their medication and have large blood pressure fluctuations. It can catch peaks that are not noticed at ordinary times, and there is no need to stare at the numerical value at a certain time point with anxiety. By the way, remember to sit there and rest for 5 minutes before taking the test. Don’t take the test just after climbing the stairs, watching funny short videos, or quarreling with your family. Don’t raise your arms too high or hang them down. They should be at the same level as your heart. Otherwise, it is common for the value to fluctuate by 10mmHg, and you will be troubled in vain.

As for exercise and weight loss, which everyone is most concerned about, you really don’t have to force yourself to complete the KPI of “running 5 kilometers three times a week” or “lifting iron for one hour”. Otherwise, it might be counterproductive. I met an uncle before. He set a goal of climbing 30 floors every morning when he was diagnosed with high blood pressure. As a result, he was admitted to the hospital due to dizziness in half a month. Morning is the peak time for blood pressure, and strenuous exercise directly pushed the blood pressure even higher, almost causing problems.

Nowadays, there are two schools of thought on exercise to control stress. One school advocates doing gentle aerobic exercise such as brisk walking and Tai Chi, which will not put a burden on blood vessels.； The other group believes that adding some light strength training such as squatting against the wall and lifting small dumbbells can better improve blood vessel elasticity. In fact, both are fine. The core is that your heart rate should not exceed (170-your age) when exercising. Even if you go downstairs for a 20-minute walk after eating every day and exercise four days a week, it will be much more effective than exercising once on a whim. The same is true for weight loss. You don’t have to stare at the scale to lose twenty or thirty pounds. You can try tightening your waistline by 3 centimeters first. Low pressure can reduce it by 2-5mmHg. It is much more cost-effective.

I talked to Dr. Li from the community chronic disease department. He said that he has been managing chronic diseases for more than ten years and has seen that the group of elderly people who have the most stable blood pressure control are not people who talk about "high blood pressure" every day and dare not eat anything. Instead, they eat and drink when they should, and occasionally It doesn't matter if you're craving for a piece of pork elbow in sauce or a mouthful of pickled radish. As long as the overall intake is within the limit and your mood is relaxed, you can control it better than those who are anxious every day. After all, when the mood is tight and the sympathetic nerves are excited, the blood pressure will rise much faster than if you eat two salty mouthfuls.

Oh, by the way, one last thing to say, all the little tips are just auxiliary. Don’t stop the antihypertensive drugs prescribed by the doctor casually. Many people feel that their blood pressure has stabilized recently and stop taking the drugs privately. That is the most common cause of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents. To put it bluntly, this little trick is to help you control your pressure. The medicine you take according to the doctor's instructions is the steering wheel in your hand, but don't do the opposite.