According to the American Heart Association, about one in three adults in the United States suffer with high blood pressure. More so, nearly one- third of these Americans aren’t aware that they have developed it. Often referred to as “silent killer,” hypertension can lead to other serious conditions if left untreated. Unfortunately, many Americans do not know how to reduce blood pressure, therefore the disease harmfully progresses.
Physicians provide extensive medical advice and drug therapy following diagnosis. Therefore, each hypertensive patient will effectively learn how to reduce high blood pressure. High blood pressure cannot be cured, yet it can be controlled through the implementation of prescriptive medications and life-style modifications.
There are several types of antihypertensive drugs that physicians prescribe according to the individual needs of the patient. Additionally, there are several natural ways to reduce elevated blood pressure, which involves healthy life- style changes.
An antihypertensive medication that is prescribed to patients is the thiazide diuretics. The thiazide diuretics are used to lower the resistance of the peripheral vascular or lower the pressure in the walls of the blood vessels.
However, this drug is commonly known to help excrete sodium from the body; thereby lowering blood volume. Another antihypertensive drug is the peripheral vasodilators which reduce blood pressure by relaxing the force of contraction of the muscles in the heart.
When prescribed, the dosages are dependant upon the status of the existing blood pressure and the seriousness of pre- existing conditions that increased the risk of developing it initially. Coincidently, the dosages may be decreased once the blood pressure levels have been reduced.
Healthcare professionals also provide other advice on how to reduce blood pressure. Generally, they often recommend life- style changes that not only reduce the blood pressure, but also help reduce the persistence of annoying side effects caused by the medications. In most cases, the risks for high blood pressure are increased
simply due to the decline in practicing healthy life-style regimens. Physicians advise hypertensive patients to eat a healthy diet, to loose weight, and to exercise daily. A healthy diet may consists of fruits and vegetables, foods rich in potassium, low calorie and low-fat foods and/or foods low in sodium.
Exercise may consist of walking, climbing stairs (as opposed to using the elevator), or yoga. Incidentally, you will loose weight from practicing both of these recommendations. These three important components along with antihypertensive medications are effective ways to control and possible prevent elevated blood pressure.
Alvin Hopkinson is a leading and avid researcher of various high blood pressure treatments. He runs a content-packed website that provides free tips to lower your hypertension and unbiased reviews on common blood pressure medications. Grab your FREE report on how to lower blood pressure naturally and visit his site at http://www.minusbloodpressure.com