Tips to Keep Blood Pressure in Check and Avoid Complications | |

With the increasing stress and sedentary lifestyle, hypertension is a common phenomenon these days. High blood pressure affects the human body even before any symptoms occur to the individual and therefore, it is advised to get your health check-up done regularly to know your blood pressure readings and avoid sudden unexpected complications. High blood pressure can lead to various problems in body organs in case it is not adequately brought under control. High blood pressure forces the heart to work harder to pump blood to the rest of the body. This causes the lower left heart chamber, called the left ventricle, to thicken and to enlarge. The narrowed atherosclerosed arteries supplying blood to the heart lead to angina, arrhythmias and heart attack. A thickened and enlarged left ventricle raises the risk of heart attack and heart failure.

Uncontrolled hypertension can lead to complications like renal failure,Stroke, eye problems leading to hypertensive retinopathy, retinal detachment and Dementia etc. Uncontrolled Hypertension can cause a bulge to form in a damaged artery and this is called aneurysm. An aneurysm occurs inside the chest and abdomen. If it gets large, it can rupture and lead to bleeding and ruptured aortic aneurysm can be fatal.

In case you are overweight, you must make sincere efforts to lose weight by dietary precautions and regular physical activities, yoga etc. Eat lots of fruit, veggies and low-fat dairy and less saturated and total fat. Restricting sugar and refined carbohydrates shall help you lose weight and lower your blood pressure. Avoid table salt and take less salt intake in vegetables. Foods labelled as low fat may be high in salt and sugar to compensate for the loss of fat. Fat is what gives food taste and makes you feel full. Eating less processed food will help you eat less salt, less sugar, and fewer refined carbohydrates. Try to eat lesser amounts of processed food. Take One should aim for a good night sleep. Avoid use of mobile, internet and social media before sleeping and otherwise also only as much as is essential. Aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic and/or dynamic resistance exercise at least 5 days per week.

Those people who consume alcohol, must limit it to more than one to two drinks a day (one for most women) upto two to three times a week. The chemicals in tobacco can increase blood pressure by damaging your blood vessel wall, causing inflammation and narrowing your arteries and this leads to higher blood pressure. Those who smoke should Quit or avoid smoking at the earliest.
Must take all medications as prescribed by your doctor regularly and in time. Do not reduce or stop medications unless advised by your doctor. In case you develop any issue with medication(s), you must report to your doctor. You should take ownership of your treatment by tracking your blood pressure at home by Home BP monitoring and in case BP is not staying within limits as suggested by your doctor, must inform them in time.
(Dr. Rajinder Kumar Singal, Principal Director & HOD – Internal Medicine, BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi)