Controlling Your Blood Pressure Archive

Do-it-yourselfers, take heart. Here’s something else to do at home that can have a substantial benefit on your health: measure your blood pressure. It’s easy, inexpensive, and helps control blood pressure better than visits to the doctor. The latest evidence for the benefits of home blood pressure monitoring comes from researchers in Minnesota. In a 12-month clinical trial, 72% of those doing home monitoring had their blood pressure under control compared to 57% who received usual care. The benefits persisted six months after the program had ended. Anyone can monitor blood pressure at home. You can buy a good home blood pressure monitor at a pharmacy or online merchant for anywhere from $50 to $100. Some insurance companies cover the cost.

Keeping blood pressure under control might be one way to slow the formation of plaque deposits in the brain that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published this March in the journal JAMANeurology. This is especially true for people who have a genetic variant called apolipoprotein E4, which increases Alzheimer's risk. The study of almost 120 adults (ages 47 to 89) found that people with high blood pressure and this gene variant had more beta-amyloid plaques in their brain than those with just one—or none—of these risk factors. Participants with the highest blood pressure plus the gene mutation tended to have the most plaque in their brain.

More research is needed to determine exactly how blood pressure might influence Alzheimer's development. However, unlike genetic factors, high blood pressure is something you can control by eating a healthy diet, exercising, losing weight, and taking blood pressure medicines if your doctor recommends them.

According to two studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology's EuroHeartCare Congress, two alternative therapies—yoga and acupressure—can lower blood pressure in people with atrial fibrillation. One study randomly assigned 80 people with atrial fibrillation to either usual treatment, or a combination of usual treatment (for atrial fibrillation or blood pressure) and medical yoga (which focuses on deep breathing through movement). After three months, systolic blood pressure decreased by 5 mm Hg, and diastolic pressure decreased by 6 mm Hg in the yoga group, while blood pressure increased in the usual care group.

Yoga also slowed participants' heart rate and improved their quality of life. In another study, acupressure (a technique of applying pressure with the fingers to specific points on the body) lowered pulse rate and blood pressure compared with an inactive treatment in a group of 60 people with atrial fibrillation. These studies suggest that yoga and acupressure might be effective additions to care for women with atrial fibrillation.

You still have options when your blood pressure can't be controlled.

One-third of all Americans have hypertension (high blood pressure), and most don't have it under control. For many people, it's because they don't know they have the condition, they skip their medications, or they haven't yet found a medication regimen that works. But millions of people are unable to control their blood pressure even when they're taking several medications for it. That's called resistant hypertension.

Q. I have had high blood pressure for a decade. It has been well controlled with a combination pill that contains two medications. But after I hurt my knee recently, my blood pressure went way up. What should I do?

A. The management of high blood pressure frequently requires adjustment, for a variety of reasons. Blood pressure tends to increase with age. In many people, blood pressure is sensitive to sodium and potassium in their diet. In addition, an injury that causes you to decrease your level of physical activity—like your knee injury did—can certainly lead to an increase in your blood pressure. One of my patients likes to rescue older dogs from shelters. Every time she rescues a dog, her blood pressure goes down from the daily dog walks. When the dog passes away, she becomes more sedentary, and her blood pressure goes right back up. I told her that providing a new home for a shelter dog every time her dog passes away will help her manage her blood pressure.

These diet and lifestyle interventions can make a big impact.

High blood pressure can be stubborn: three to five medications are often needed to bring it down. The good news is that making simple changes to your everyday life may help reduce your dependence on drugs. How much they will help can't be predicted, however. You won't know until you try them.

Regular exercise releases brain chemicals that support better memory, concentration, and mental sharpness.

Do you sometimes feel a little foggy? Or frustrated with frequent bouts of forgetfulness? Here's some good news from the frontiers of brain-body science:

Q. My top blood pressure number is high, and my bottom number is normal. Can a healthier lifestyle lower my blood pressure?

A. Healthy diet and exercise habits are the cornerstone of blood pressure management. The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure has estimated how much each of five simple lifestyle changes can reduce systolic blood pressure (SBP)—the top number in a blood pressure reading—in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

Drinking two cups of coffee a day may protect against heart failure, likely by lowering the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes.

Millions of American women have soaring blood pressure that's putting their health at serious risk. Are you among them?

Millions of Americans are harboring a secret. That secret is high blood pressure—an often silent, symptomless condition that can damage our blood vessels and overwork our heart, leaving us prey to heart disease, stroke, and premature death.