Can Primary Care Physicians Help Control Blood Pressure?

More than one-third of the American population is known to exhibit symptoms of hypertension, more commonly known as high blood pressure.

The sad part is many aren’t aware that they have had it for a long time. This makes them vulnerable to cardiac issues in the long run.

Nevertheless, keeping your blood pressure under check is possible if you adopt a few rules in your life.

Here’s what Orange County primary care physicians have to say about lowering hypertension.

Get Active

Undoubtedly, regular exercise holds the key to good health. Multiple research studies have shown how regular physical activity can keep your blood pressure under control. Besides, it helps you manage weight, strengthens your heart, and brings down daily stress levels.

Orange County primary care physicians recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week. And you don't have to hit the gym or lift weights. Simple activities like brisk walking, jogging, and even dancing can help to a great extent.

Feel free to choose what you love to do—any form of exercise, and you will always be motivated to do it regularly, slowly turning it into a habit.

Cut down on salt

A lot of us end up consuming salt in high amounts. And, seldom do we realize what it's doing to our bodies.

According to the data presented by The American Heart Association, Americans, on average, consume no less than 3,400 mg of sodium in a single day, where the recommended daily intake is 2,300 mg.

For people with hypertension, the ideal limit should be somewhere around 1,500 mg per day.

Orange County primary care physicians can help you track your diet, and you will be amazed to witness how cutting back on salt can do wonders for your health.

Besides, here are a few steps that you can follow to readily bring down your salt intake:

• Check food labels that mention low salt or sodium, and then go ahead and buy that particular food or beverage from the store.
• Say no to processed foods or keep their consumption to a bare minimum. Processed foods, in order to be preserved for a long time, usually contain a high amount of sodium, more than 70 percent, which is never a good idea.
• Adopt natural salt substitutes like garlic and other herbs, which can readily add flavor to the food you eat.

Embracing more potassium

To ensure optimum health conditions, the right balance of potassium and sodium is highly recommended. This is because not only does the right dosage of potassium regulate the heart rate, but it also lessens the adverse effects of sodium.

Besides, potassium also helps your blood vessels to relax, which further brings down blood pressure. Orange county primary care physicians recommend including more potassium in your diet through the consumption of foods like bananas, oranges, melons, tomatoes, and avocados, to name a few.

Keep it to a few glasses

As one might have guessed already, a good number of individuals who drink daily are predisposed to developing high blood pressure. Although drinking in moderation is beneficial for the heart, consuming too much alcohol at one time can spike your blood pressure.

That being said, if you are already taking medicines for hypertension, you might want to say no to alcohol now and then.

Make Efforts to Beat Stress

While stress is an inevitable part of our lives, one has to make peace with it and say no to a few things that can keep you hanging on the edge.

Little to moderate levels of stress can temporarily cause a spike in blood pressure. However, when the stressful situation passes, things fall back to normal. The problem arises when it becomes chronic, especially when you cope with it by resorting to unhealthy eating and drinking.

Here are a few tried and tested methods to keep yourself calm:

 

• Strike out "what if" from your dictionary-These two words are dangerous for your mind as almost every episode of overthinking starts there. In other words, "what if'' translates to things that we don't control. Instead, it's beneficial to focus on what we can control. This way, recurrent episodes of overthinking will wither away, and you will always find yourself at peace and won't struggle with myriad thoughts.
  
• Stay away from known stressful situations-Stress can be triggered by a string of daily events in which we put ourselves, like being late to work due to traffic and eventually arriving late to be chided by your boss. Such simple things can also put you under stress. Hence, it would be wise to stay away from such situations. In this particular case, you can make it a habit to leave early and drive peacefully to work on time.
  
• Make room for some "me" time- No matter who you are or what you do, always make time to indulge yourself in things that bring you joy and happiness. It could be activities like evening walks, painting, dancing, or watching a movie. All these things will contribute to lowering your stress levels and helping you relax.

Orange County healthcare covers are also available to you. This covers your medical and surgical expenditures in case of medical emergencies.

So, you see, hypertension can, at times, require medical intervention to bring things back to normal. However, little doings, as per the recommendations of primary care physicians, can always make a difference.