Manage Your Blood Pressure

Steps to help prevent and/or manage high blood pressure

Healthy Eating:

• Eat foods like fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy foods
  
• Reduce consumption of foods containing high sodium, cholesterol, sugars, and fats.

Reduce Salt/Sodium in Your Diet

• Aim for less than 2400 mg of Sodium per day = 1 teaspoon of table salt per day
  
• Persons with high blood pressure should consume about 1500 mg of Sodium per day
  
• Check the nutrition labels you may be surprised how high in sodium some foods really are

Maintain Healthy Weight......easier said than done

• Being overweight increases your risk of developing High BP—as well as heart disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol
  
• Losing even 10 lbs. can lower your blood pressure

Physical Activity

• Increasing levels of exercise can help control or prevent high blood pressure
  
• Start slow, progress at your rate. Exercise with family/friends/alone with head-phones...whatever works!
• Doing it is what counts.
  
• Check out the wellness clinic for information on personal training and a host of exercise classes.

Limit Alcohol Intake

• Too much alcohol can increase BP, and harm the liver, brain, and heart
  
• Limit beverages to 1 per day for women and 2 per day for men

What counts as 1 drink?

• 12 ounces of beer
  
• 5 ounces of wine
  
• ½ ounces of 80-proof whiskey

Quit Smoking

• Smoking injures blood vessel walls and speeds up the process of arteriosclerosis
  
• Once you quit smoking, your risk of having a heart attack is reduced after the first year