Nowadays, hypertension or high blood pressure is a dangerous disease that is faced by lots of people all around the world. It is a silent killer since it hardly ever presents few symptoms until it’s too late. Ironically, it can trigger other health problems like heart disease and stroke if hypertension is left unnoticed.

Nevertheless, the good news is that hypertension is fairly easy to identify. All you have to do is to test your condition regularly. Additionally, there are lots of choices in treating this condition that include lifestyle changes and medications.

Who Gets It

Men are tend to undergo from hypertension throughout the early years of life and into middle age. However, the statistics for women and menopause incline to rise as well in the later years. Another risk factor in hypertension is race. Often at an earlier age, African Americans are much more possible to be identified with this condition than whites. If you have a family history of high blood pressure, you may also have a higher risk of developing hypertension at some time in your life.

Other types of risk factors for hypertension can be controlled effectively by your lifestyle choices. For example, lack of exercise and excess weight can lead to high blood pressure. Drinking excess alcohol, consuming tobacco, and experiencing chronic stress can also lead to hypertension. In fact, you can do much to reduce your chances of developing hazardous hypertension by making good lifestyle choices that avoid as many of these posibility factors as possible.

What You Can Do About It

Even though you feel that your condition isn’t so bad, you need to understand that treating hypertension is important. Since hypertension can boost your risk of other serious health problems, you need to check your blood pressure at regular intervals. Nowadays, you don’t have to worry in choosing medication for treating your condition. There are many drugs prescriptions that doctor can select from to get the one that works effectively for you.

Additionally to hypertension medication, lifestyle changes can be an effective way to keep hypertension under control. A healthy diet that is rich in whole vegetables, grains and fruits is a good first step coupled with thirty minutes of daily physical activity. This will assist to protect your cardiovascular system heathy and strong. These two steps will also assist you to maintain a healthy weight, which is another positive step in controlling blood pressure.

Additionally, you can also control your blood pressure by learning to manage your stress effectively, limiting alcohol intake, and quitting smoking. Getting serious about your health condition is an essential step in enjoying a healthier lifestyle overall and keeping your blood pressure under control. This is the effective way to breakout from hypertension.

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Heart Attack: Are You At Risk?

If you’re male and you lead an inactive lifestyle you probably have at least 3 risk factors associated with heart disease.

I know, I know, you feel fine but so do most people before they have a heart attack. Unfortunately, most people find out they have heart disease the day they are admitted in to hospital, and they are the lucky ones!

Ladies, don’t think this is just something for men to worry about (as it has been in the past). Women, as well as men, are more likely to die of heart disease than of any type of cancer.

This is because of our modern lifestyle. We are working longer hours, so we eat fast food, and there’s no time for exercise. To make matters worse, machines are taking the “work” out of work. We are less active and it’s killing us!

So what are the risk factors for heart disease?

Firstly, there are two types of risk factors: those that can be changed, and those that can’t be changed. Each extra risk factor that you have increases your chance of having a heart attack substantially.

Risk factors that can’t be changed:

Heredity: You are at greater risk if your parents, grandparents, brothers, or sisters, have heart disease.

Gender: Men are at greater risk than women, though the risk for women increases after menopause.

Age: As you increase in age, so do your chances of having a heart attack.

Risk factors that can be changed:

Smoking: A smoker is twice as likely than a non-smoker to have a heart attack. It not only places extra strain on the heart and lungs but also makes blood cholesterol stickier, making it easier to block arteries.

High Blood Cholesterol: Cholesterol is produced naturally by the body and is essential to our health. The problem comes when we consume too much in our diet.

High Blood Pressure: The first most people learn they have this is when it’s at a dangerous level.

Physical Inactivity: If you are inactive, you are more likely to have a heart attack. Even a 10 minute walk each day can make all the difference.

Obesity: If you are obese, you are placing your heart under a great deal of strain even at rest.

If you think you could be at risk, the first thing you should do is visit your doctor. Secondly, you need to modify your lifestyle. Exercise for at least 10 minutes per day (30 minutes is better but anything is better than nothing!). You also need to eat foods that are low in fat. If you smoke you need to give up.

Even if you don’t have many risk factors it’s a good idea to visit your doctor each year. Some risk factors can change within a short period of time and getting on to them early can make all the difference.

For the tips about how to measure blood pressure.

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