Tips on how to lower blood pressure

Following these tips can help to reduce high blood pressure, or help to control it if you’ve already been diagnosed with the condition.

High blood pressure significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

High blood pressure is not usually something that you can feel or notice, and it can go undiagnosed because there are usually no symptoms. Regardless, high blood pressure can lead to kidney damage, stroke or a heart attack. Therefore, it's important you get your blood pressure checked regularly. Check with your GP or nurse how often to get it checked.

1. Regular physical activity

Try to do some moderate-intensity activity every day and build up to at least 150 minutes per week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more.

• Read more about being active.

• Read why sitting too much could be bad for your health.

2. Keep to a healthy weight

"For some people, losing weight is all they need to do to get their blood pressure down to a normal level"

For some people, losing weight is all they need to do to get their blood pressure down to a normal level.

• Read our dietitian's 8 secrets of long-term weight loss.
• Read how three people have transformed their lives since losing weight.

3. Eat a healthy balanced diet

Use the Eatwell plate to guide the proportions you include from each food group. In particular, include a variety of fruit and vegetables.

• Read more about healthy eating.
• Visit the Eatwell plate to check your proportions.

4. Cut down on salt

"Don’t cook with salt or add any to your food at the table"

Don’t cook with salt or add any to your food at the table, and cut down on processed foods, which contain a lot of salt.

• Watch our animation explaining why too much salt is bad for you.
• Get more tips for reducing your salt intake.
• See our list of 7 surprisingly salty foods.

5. Don't drink too much

If you drink alcohol, stick within the recommended limits. No more than 3–4 units a day for men and no more than 2–3 for women.

• Read more about alcohol and your heart.

6. Take your medicines as prescribed

Most people will need to take more than one type of medicine to control their blood pressure. Don’t stop taking your medication without consulting with your GP first.

• See our Drug Cabinet section.
• Read 12 questions you should read before you see your doctor.

Understanding your blood pressure

Your blood pressure reading consists of two numbers usually shown as one on top of the other and measured in mmHg (millimetres of mercury). If your blood pressure reading is 120 / 80mmHg your doctor or nurse may refer to it as “120 over 80”.

The first (or top) number represents the highest level that your blood pressure reaches when your heart contracts and pumps blood through your arteries – known as your systolic pressure. The second (or bottom) number represents the lowest level your blood pressure reaches as your heart relaxes between beats – your diastolic pressure.

High blood pressure – or hypertension – means that your blood pressure is constantly higher than the recommended level.

Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, your blood pressure should be below 140/ 90. If you have heart and circulatory disease (such as coronary heart disease or stroke) or diabetes or kidney disease, then your blood pressure should be below 130 / 80.

In addition to determining whether you need medications, which you should discuss with your doctor, healthy lifestyle choices can make a significant difference in reducing high blood pressure. Try incorporating the following changes and habits into your daily life.

1. Lose Weight if You’re Overweight

Weight loss is an important part of reducing high blood pressure, especially for people with obesity, as it’s a strong risk factor for hypertension. Dr. Mehta says people who are overweight can have between a two- to six-fold increase in risk of developing hypertension.

“With less weight, the heart and arteries do not have to work as hard,” says Dr. Desai. “The heart muscle and the muscles in the arteries do not thicken. Thickening can lead to further increases in blood pressure because of reduced give or elasticity of blood vessels.”

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2. Exercise

Most doctors recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each day. “Aerobic exercise gets the heart rate up in a gradual and consistent fashion, helps to stretch the heart and arteries, and also increases blood flow to the organs,” says Dr. Desai.

If you can’t do 30 minutes, Dr. Desai recommends at least 15 to 20 minutes a day, five to seven days a week. Some aerobic exercise options include walking, running, swimming, using an elliptical machine, cycling and playing tennis.

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3. Decrease Your Salt Intake

“Salt is the enemy of high blood pressure,” says Dr. Desai. When you eat too much salt, it increases the amount of fluid that enters the bloodstream and arteries from the surrounding tissue, which raises the pressure in the arteries.

While you may not have to remove salt from your diet completely, avoid foods very high in salt like chips, French fries, salted nuts, soups, store-bought salad dressings, processed foods and cheese.

4. Avoid Excess Caffeine

Drinking too much coffee or too many energy drinks that contain caffeine isn’t recommended for people with high blood pressure. “Caffeine is a form of adrenaline,” says Dr. Desai. “It constricts the arteries and raises the heart rate, both of which increase blood pressure.”

If you have high blood pressure, ask your doctor whether you need to adjust your morning coffee habit, as Dr. Mehta says high levels of caffeine can worsen blood pressure control. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers the equivalent of four cups of coffee a day (400 milligrams) safe for the general population, but most experts recommend 200 milligrams or less (two cups of coffee) for people with established hypertension, says Dr. Mehta.

5. Drink More Water

Staying hydrated may be an important way to keep your blood pressure reading in a normal range. “When you’re dehydrated, the body produces stress hormones to maintain blood flow to organs,” says Dr. Desai. This response can increase blood pressure.

6. Drink Less Alcohol

Alcohol can increase your body weight, deplete the body of magnesium and potassium, and dehydrate you, according to Dr. Desai. What’s more, alcohol increases stress levels, which cause elevated blood pressure over time as well, he says.

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7. Try Blood Pressure Support Supplements

8. Avoid Processed Foods

A healthy diet plays an important part in reducing high blood pressure, so many doctors recommend reducing consumption of processed foods. Processed foods are often loaded with sodium and saturated fats, two things people with hypertension want to avoid.

“A good rule of thumb is to have multiple colors of food on your plate,” says Dr. Desai. He recommends eating more berries, bananas, beets, dark chocolate, kiwis, watermelon, oats, garlic, lentils, pomegranates, cinnamon, unsalted pistachios and fermented foods like yogurt.

9. Reduce Stress Through Meditation and Rest

“Chronic stress can lead to chronic elevations in the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline,” says Dr. Desai. “These hormones constrict the arteries and cause weight gain, which further increases blood pressure.”

He recommends reducing stress by using breathing exercises, practicing meditation, completing physical exercise, practicing yoga, logging quality sleep, taking breaks throughout the day, spending time in nature, listening to music and eating a balanced diet.

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10. Quit Smoking

11. Eat Dark Chocolate

Dr. Desai notes the dark chocolate should have high amounts of cocoa—aim for at least 70%—and should be low in sugar. “It’s likely that a compound in dark chocolate known as flavonoids releases a substance known as nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels,” says Dr. Mehta.

12. Try the DASH Diet

If you’re unsure how to change your diet to lower blood pressure, Dr. Mehta recommends trying the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which he says is “the best studied dietary approach to helping with hypertension.” It consists of foods rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, fiber and protein and low in saturated fat and sodium.

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