Blood Pressure

We all know that cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer out there. When it comes to risk factors of cardiovascular disease, they are pretty straightforward: smoking, apoB, and the topic of today’s podcast/newsletter, blood pressure. It is estimated that about 46% of adults in the United States are walking around with Stage 1 (systolic blood pressure between 130-139 or diastolic blood pressure between 80-89) or Stage 2 hypertension (systolic over 140 or diastolic over 90). So why is this important?

According to the Sprint trial in 2015 where they looked at 10,000 people and either lowered their blood pressure to right around 121 or lowered it to around 136, after just one year they saw a 25% relative reduction in cardiovascular mortality in the lower blood pressure group. It became clear in a short period of time that keeping the systolic blood pressure to 120 or less was the correct course of action.

Another meta-analysis shows that in people aged 40-70, for every 20 point increase in systolic blood pressure, and each 10 point increase in diastolic blood pressure, there is double the risk of death from stroke, heart disease, or other vascular issues.

Another study looking at a little over 9,000 people showed that intensive blood pressure lowering resulted in a 16% reduction in dementia. It has also been shown that people with hypertension have a faster rate of decline in their kidney function. This just shows that having high blood pressure is not only bad for your heart, but also the brain, kidneys, and other areas.

So what do we do about it? The first thing is to be sure that you are getting your blood pressure measured accurately. This means:

- sit and rest for 3-5 minutes before taking your blood pressure

- Be sure the cuff is not too small or placed over your clothing

-Sit with your back and feet supported and do not cross your legs

-Do not talk while taking your blood pressure

-Do not have a full bladder while taking your blood pressure

-Be sure your arm is at heart level (not above or below)

The above listed things have been shown to significantly increase blood pressure, especially if you are doing several of them.

So what lifestyle factors can help improve blood pressure? The first is improving your sleep. People who sleep less than 5 hours per night can be at 40% increased risk of hypertension.

Losing weight can also help decrease blood pressure. This study showed that for every kilogram of weight loss, there was a decrease in just over 1 point on the systolic and just under 1 on the diastolic blood pressure.

Aerobic exercise has been shown to be very effective at lowering blood pressure. As little as 4 weeks of aerobic exercise doing 90-150 minutes per week at a heart rate of 65-75% of your max heart rate has been shown to drop your systolic by 8 and your diastolic by 5.

Resistance training has also been shown to help reduce blood pressure. Again, at about 90-150 minutes per week of moderate to heavy strength training can decrease your systolic by 2 and your diastolic by 3.

Give the podcast a listen here… Apple  Spotify  Google  Amazon

Simplified Takeaways…

1. High blood pressure is one of the top risk factors for cardiovascular disease

2. High blood pressure raises your risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

3. High blood pressure also raises your risk of dementia, kidney damage, and metabolic syndrome.

4. See the above list for things to be aware of when getting your blood pressure checked.

5. Be sure to get 8 hours of sleep per night. This will decrease your risk of hypertension.

6. Losing weight, doing aerobic exercise, and doing resistance training have all been shown to decrease blood pressure.

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advise. No doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this newsletter or materials linked from this newsletter is at the user’s own risk. The content of this newsletter is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advise, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advise for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.