Blood Pressure Archive

About a third of healthy people-and about 60% of people with high blood pressure-are salt sensitive, meaning they have an exaggerated response to dietary sodium. But an estimated one in 10 people may have inverse salt sensitivity: their blood pressure goes up when they eat less salt. Understanding the genetic basis of these differences may one day improve the treatment of blood pressure.

People whose spouses have high blood pressure may be more likely to have high blood pressure themselves than people whose spouses do not have the condition, according to a 2023 study.

A 2023 study found that people who said they ate the most tomatoes (more than 110 grams per day, for three years) experienced a 36% reduction in hypertension, compared with people who said they ate the least tomatoes per day (less than 44 grams).

Beta blockers can slow one's heart rate, which can make gauging intensity during exercise difficult. Monitoring your breathing is a good way to ensure you work out at an intensity that is sufficient and not too high.

A significant reduction in salt intake may directly lower blood pressure in even more people than previously believed.

Orthostatic hypotension, a condition that causes blood pressure to drop when a person stands up, can leave people dizzy and lightheaded. It can result from certain medications or health problems and becomes more common with age and frailty. Doctors sometimes worry that intensive blood pressure treatment contributes to the problem, but research suggests the opposite is true. Strategies to cope with symptoms of orthostatic hypotension include drinking plenty of fluids, wearing compression stockings, and taking care when rising from a chair or bed.

When participants in a 2023 study ate a low-sodium diet for one week, the vast majority experienced an average 8-point drop in their systolic blood pressure compared to when they ate a high-salt diet for one week.

Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of interrelated health conditions that significantly increases the risk for heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and more. A diagnosis requires at least three of the following risk factors: obesity, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol, or high blood pressure. Metabolic syndrome can be reversed if it's recognized. Losing weight is central to reducing many of its features. Lowering elevated blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels also plays a major role in reducing the risk for heart disease and stroke.

According to a 2023 study, a person's waist-to-hip ratio-the circumference of the waist divided by the circumference of the hip-is a better predictor of future health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes than body mass index.

In women, sleep problems-including falling asleep, staying asleep, and insufficient sleep-were associated with a greater risk of high blood pressure.