Your doctor may ask you to start taking your blood pressure at home and recording it. Doing so will give both you and your doctor a more complete understanding of how much your blood pressure varies during the day, and how well your medication is working to control your con- dition. It also eliminates the […]
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (part of the National Institutes of Health) has developed a comprehensive eating plan called the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. The DASH diet is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, total fat, and sodium. It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods; it includes whole grain products, […]
If your doctor diagnoses you as having hypertension, your ?rst reaction may be surprise, because you feel ?ne. That is not unusual. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, and many people go for years with- out knowing they have it. Your heart, brain, and kidneys can handle increased pressure for a long time, and […]
The vast majority of people—90 to 95 percent—with high blood pres- sure have a type called essential or primary hypertension, which means that the exact cause or causes are unknown. In other people, high blood pressure may occur because of an underlying problem such as a blood vessel abnormality, kidney disease, or thyroid disease. However, […]
Today, high blood pressure (hypertension) is probably the most modi?able common major risk factor for heart disease and stroke in the United States. About one out of every three American adults has high blood pressure, and the numbers are increasing as our country ages and becomes more overweight. High blood pressure can cause damage to […]
