If you have high blood pressure/hypertension, there is a good chance your doctor will advise you to adopt certain lifestyle changes to help keep blood pressure from rising. Individuals at high risk for serious hypertension should take particular notice of the recommendations.

Currently recommendations for the prevention of hypertension are being made worldwide not only to individuals, but also to communities. Individuals at high risk for hypertension should take particular notice of the recommendations.

The following tips may help you to prevent hypertension:

    • Maintain an adequate intake of potassium and consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, and reduced in saturated and total fat.
    • Maintain your weight at a level close to normal. Choose fruits, vegetables, grains and low-fat dairy foods.
    • Limit your daily sodium (salt) intake to 2000 milligrams or lower if you already have high blood pressure. Read nutrition labels on packaged foods to learn how much sodium is in one serving. Keep a sodium diary.
    • Get plenty of exercise, which means at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as walking, most days of the week.
    • Avoid consuming too much alcohol. Men should limit consumption to two drinks i.e. two 315ml servings of beer or two 150ml servings of wine or two 35ml servings of “hard” liquor a day. Women should have no more than a single serving on a given day because metabolic differences make women more susceptible to alcoholic liver disease.
    • Limit caffeine intake.

Beware of dangerous activities

People who have high blood pressure should limit their exposure to the following:

    • Saunas, steam baths
    • Steam rooms
    • Heated whirlpools
    • Hot tubs and jacuzzis
    • Very warmly heated swimming pools

These may raise the heart rate and blood pressure to dangerous levels. People with high blood pressure should not use these facilities for more than 10 minutes, after which they should sit down out of the heat for a few minutes before standing to minimise the risk of dizziness or fainting. Be cautious with OTC medication

People with high blood pressure must also be careful about using certain over-the-counter (OTC) medication that contain vasoconstrictors, since these can elevate blood pressure. Such medication includes:

    • Eye drops
    • Cold, flu, sinus and cough medications (especially those containing decongestants)
    • Antihistamines.

Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EAP) is available 24 hours a day if you want to discuss the prevention of hypertension.