Reviewed by: Huang Zhaoqi (The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University)
Have you noticed an abnormal increase in your blood pressure? Or is it lower than the high blood pressure range but still above normal?
These are a harbinger of prehypertension, which can be more severe than thought.
Prehypertensive refers to the number before the blood pressure reading between 120-139, or the number behind it between 80-89.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 30 percent of U.S. adults have prehypertension.
First, the pre-hypertension period makes people more likely to suffer from high blood pressure
What are the risks? Pre-hypertension makes people more susceptible to high blood pressure.
In addition, one study showed that stroke was also more likely to occur if blood pressure was at the upper limit of the prehypertensive range and was younger than 65 years of age.
Even if the pre-hypertension is not very high, this is still not optimistic for the body.
Dr. Richard Stein, who oversees the Sports, Nutrition and Cardiovascular Program at new York University's Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, said: "It causes the heart muscle to pulsate under higher pressure, so the heart becomes thicker and thicker."
The number of people with prehypertension and hypertension is on the rise. Richard said that as Americans become more obese and inactive, prehypertension and hypertension are becoming more common.
Richard says a person with diabetes, high cholesterol or a family history of high blood pressure is more likely to develop prehypertension.
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2. Do you have prehypertensives?
Prehypertensives have no signs or symptoms like hypertension. So how can we know if we are sick or not? Richard says the only way to know is to measure blood pressure.
Blood pressure can be measured in the doctor's office, at home, or at a local pharmacy.
If a person is healthy and both blood pressure values are higher than normal, wait 2 or 3 days for another blood pressure test.
If it is still higher than normal, see a doctor so that you can start controlling your blood pressure as early as possible.
The good news is that prehypertension doesn't necessarily progress to high blood pressure. To reverse this situation, consult a doctor and take the following 7 measures:
1. Pay attention to diet
Consider following a DASH diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.
It limits fat and cholesterol, limits the intake of sodium (which raises blood pressure), and focuses on foods rich in calcium, potassium, and magnesium (minerals that help lower blood pressure).
2. Pay attention to the salt
Most experts recommend reducing salt intake. Check food labels for nutrients, limit processed foods, replace salt with herbs and spices, and don't add too much salt to foods.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting sodium to no more than 1500 mg per day, about a teaspoon of salt.
3. Multi-activity
Choose 4 or more days of the week with at least 30 minutes of moderate activity per day.
4. Maintain a healthy weight
Being overweight makes prehypertensive pre-hypertension more likely to occur. Physical activity and a healthy diet can help lose excess weight.
5. Limit alcohol
Men drink no more than two drinks a day and women no more than one drink. If you don't drink alcohol in the first place, then keep it up and don't try to drink.
6. Control pressure
It's unclear whether chronic stress itself raises blood pressure in the long run. But Richard says stress can make it easy for a person to eat too much and neglect exercise.
So change the pressure state, or at least deal with these pressures. Look for healthy ways to relieve stress and consider psychological counseling.
7. Track blood pressure changes
Richard says buy a home sphygmomanometer and measure blood pressure twice a day: once in the morning and once in the evening. "Readings with very high blood pressure are really worrying, but one statistic is not enough," he says, "and we'll see how it changes over time."
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