Heart Health
6 natural ways to lower blood pressure
Lifestyle changes can be as effective as medication.
- Reviewed by Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
Taking medication to lower high blood pressure is a proven way to reduce your risk for heart disease. But adopting lifestyle changes may let you maintain healthy readings and perhaps even avoid drug therapy. "Unless a person's blood pressure is very high, medication most often does not start immediately," says Dr. Howard LeWine, editor in chief of Harvard Men's Health Watch. "For people with elevated blood pressure or stage 1 hypertension, the first order of business is to get serious about modifying their lifestyle."
By the numbers
Normal blood pressure is defined as a reading of less than 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Elevated pressure means systolic blood pressure (the first number in a reading) is 120 to 129 mm Hg with a diastolic pressure (the second number) of less than 80 mm Hg. People who have consistent readings of 130 to 139 for systolic pressure or 80 to 89 for diastolic pressure are said to have high blood pressure (stage 1 hypertension).
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About the Author
Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
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