I Have High Blood Pressure. Now What?

Around 50% of the adults in the United States have high blood pressure, or hypertension. Fortunately, there are ways to manage this chronic condition that can cause serious health problems, such as heart attack or stroke.

Compassionate family medicine specialist Jennifer Ukwu, MD, offers chronic care management (CCM) for high blood pressure and more at Botany Wellness in Pearland, Texas.

What’s high blood pressure?

Two numbers make up your blood pressure reading. The first number (systolic) monitors the pressure of your blood in your arteries when your heart beats. The second (diastolic) measures your blood pressure between beats.

Blood pressure measuring over 130 systolic or over 80 diastolic is considered high. Dr. Ukwu offers a range of options, from lifestyle adjustments to medication, to treat this condition.

How to manage high blood pressure

A leading contributor to high blood pressure is obesity. Excess weight puts added pressure on your heart, increasing your risk of cardiovascular problems. Dr. Ukwu recommends ways to control your weight, such as boosting your physical activity and reducing empty calories.

Botany Wellness offers weight loss therapy for patients looking for help. We also suggest you:

Watch what you eat

Cut excess calories with little nutritional value and add more vegetables and fruit, lean protein, and healthy grains and nuts to reduce your risk of high blood pressure and other unwanted conditions, such as diabetes.

Reduce salt and increase potassium

Sodium raises blood pressure. Dr. Ukwu recommends reading food labels for hidden sources of salt and adding herbs instead of salt to your home-cooked meals.

Foods containing potassium help your body release sodium, including:

• Oats
• Beets
• Blueberries
• Medjool dates
• Bananas
• Avocados
• Beans

Drink more water and less alcohol 

Drinking 6-8 glasses of water daily helps avoid dehydration, which may lower blood volume, narrow blood vessels, and raise blood pressure. Although alcohol relaxes blood vessels, once your liver metabolizes it, the blood vessels constrict, increasing blood pressure.

Cut back on sugar

Our bodies remove sugar from our blood via insulin, which transports the sugar to our cells for energy. Consuming too much sugar and simple carbohydrates, such as white bread, white rice, soda, and pastries, raises blood pressure by causing unhealthy spikes in insulin production.

Stop smoking

Nicotine narrows your blood vessels, forcing your heart to beat faster and escalating blood pressure.

Lower stress and improve sleep

Reduce your stress levels through breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga. Squeeze a stress ball to increase the circulation of oxygen to your brain and subsequently lower blood pressure.

Nine hours of quality sleep each night also helps. If you suffer from sleep apnea, speak to the doctor regarding solutions.

Medications that lower blood pressure

Dr. Ukwu works with you to create a heart-smart eating and exercise plan. She also prescribes dietary supplements and medication, as needed, when lifestyle adjustments alone don’t work. Medication types include:

• Diuretics to rid your body of excess water and sodium
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors to relax your blood vessels
• Beta blockers to reduce your heart rate
• Calcium channel blockers to open narrowed blood vessels
• Vasodilators to enable better blood flow by widening blood vessel walls

The doctor discusses the pros and cons of these and other medications to help you choose. 

The doctor is in

Dr. Ukwu discusses various methods, including diet, exercise, medication, and nutritional supplements, to get you and your blood pressure in better shape. To learn more, call our office or schedule an appointment online at Botany Wellness today.