How to Sidestep High Blood Pressure
For: Strokes and Ways to Avoid Them, November 2003
People tend to worry most about cancer, but, in fact, cardiovascular disease kills nearly twice as many Americans and Canadians as all cancers combined. Hypertension (high blood pressure) is often a major factor in cardiovascular disease: if untreated, it can lead to a heart attack or stroke. One out of four adults has hypertension. Now researchers from the famous Framingham Heart Study have produced an even more startling statistic: 90% of people who reach age 55 will eventually develop hypertension.
The good news is that many people can dodge this bullet. Other new research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in April, confirmed what has long been known or strongly suspected: regular aerobic exercise reduces blood pressure in healthy people, as well as in those who already have hypertension. The researchers combined the results from 54 well-designed studies involving 2,400 people. There simply is no arguing with the conclusion: exercise is a good way to help prevent, as well as help treat, high blood pressure. Any aerobic exercise will help—walking, jogging, swimming, running, cycling, or even active gardening or housework—as long as you raise your heart rate enough to work up a light sweat. You should exercise regularly, at least three times a week.
It’s one of the tragedies of modern life that so many people develop a disease that can be prevented or at least postponed. Hypertension usually has no symptoms—the first sign may be a heart attack or stroke—which is why it’s called a "silent killer." It’s estimated that two out of five people who have high blood pressure don’t even know it. It’s also a tragedy that so many people with hypertension, even when they do know they have it, don’t keep it under control via treatment. But how much better it would be to avoid it in the first place!
The first step is to have your blood pressure measured, and get medical advice if it is elevated. Everyone should have it measured at least once every two years. Step two: If you are not already active, today would be a great day to begin. Step three: Improve your dietary habits—see our article on the DASH diet below. If you do develop hypertension, and such life-style changes don’t control it, you’ll probably need to take medication.
UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, June 2002
