Out of all the information we can get about our bodies, blood pressure is one of the more common things we check. It is measured at every doctor’s visit and many dentist visits. We can easily check it at home, and we can even check it at the drug store. Blood pressure can give important information about our overall health status and provides a valuable marker that we can monitor over time. But what exactly is it, and why does it matter?
What is Your Blood Pressure Really Measuring?
Blood pressure is measured with a special cuff called a sphygmomanometer (what a mouthful) and gives two measurements.
The top number:
This is called your systolic blood pressure. This measures the pressure inside your arteries while your heart is actively squeezing. This is the “lub” part of the “lub dub” sound your heart makes.
The bottom number
This is referred to as your diastolic blood pressure and is the pressure inside your arteries while your heart is relaxed (in between squeezes). This is the “dub” part of the “lub dub” sound your heart makes.
Why does blood pressure matter?
Our bodies depend on adequate blood pressure to help supply blood and oxygen to our organs, filter our blood, and shuttle important proteins around our body. To optimize our health and performance our blood pressure should be kept in a certain range, as it can be very detrimental to have blood pressures that are too high or too low.
Fun Fact: The average heart pumps 2,000 gallons worth of blood per day!
A quick note on low blood pressure:
The general consensus on what constitutes low blood pressure is anything under 90/60. That said, some people may feel dizzy or light-headed when their blood pressure is slightly above that number despite being in the “normal range”. As is the case with most things in the human body, we are all a little different.
Chronically low blood pressure can have detrimental effects in the way our kidneys filter our blood, can decrease our cognition and brain function, and can decrease the amount of oxygen we are able to get to our tissues.
In many cases low blood pressure is a result of blood pressure medications that need to be adjusted. In those with low blood pressure who do not take blood pressure medications we suggest you talk to your doctor about possible causes.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure (also called hypertension) is without question the most common condition in the United States, and the statistics are a bit startling. Consider the following:
- Over 70% of men over age 55 have high blood pressure
- 48% of adults have high blood pressure
- Of those adults with high blood pressure, fewer than 48% are adequately controlled
- 1.28 billion people worldwide are estimated to have high blood pressure
Why is high blood pressure bad?
When blood pressure is elevated for long periods of time it can cause considerable damage to our bodies. High blood pressure can:
- Damage the walls of our arteries
- Cause our heart to enlarge
- Increases our risk of strokes and heart attacks
- Increases our risk of dementia
What causes high blood pressure?
This is actually a complex question, and in almost all cases there are a number of contributing factors. Weight, stress levels, inflammation, diet, and genetics all play a very important role. In most cases, the exact cause is not known.
Primary Hypertension:
Up to 95% of individuals with high blood pressure are classified as having primary hypertension. This means that their high blood pressure is a direct result of a combination of the (mostly) modifiable factors listed above. Unfortunately, we can’t do much about our genetics.
Secondary Hypertension:
The remaining 5% of individuals with high blood pressure can trace their problem back to a singular cause. This is called secondary hypertension. These are things like adrenal tumors, narrowing in arteries that lead to the kidneys, or alterations in certain hormone pathways. The treatments for these are very specific and we will not go into these.
What is the Normal Range for Blood Pressure?
Believe it or not, this depends on who you talk to! The guidelines used in medical practices come from associations of various medical specialties. These are made up physicians from specialties like the American College of Cardiology, the American Society of Hypertension, Department of Veterans Affairs, American Diabetes Association, American College of Physicians, and the American Academy of Family Physicians (just to name a few).
The confusing part…
The thing that often confuses patients is that the blood pressure guidelines vary across medical organizations, with differences in what defines hypertension and what the ideal blood pressure target should be.
For instance, the American Heart Association considers anything over 130/80 to be high blood pressure, while the American Academy of Family Physicians suggests a blood pressure of 140/90 as the cutoff for high blood pressure. The Department of Veterans Affairs classifies anything over 130/90 as high blood pressure, while the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (known as the JNC) defines high blood pressure as anything over 150/90 for adults over 60.
If you have diabetes, heart disease, or other diagnoses then you will have more specific goals for your blood pressure… and guess what? They are all a bit different too!
So, if you have received differing advice from doctors over the years about your blood pressure, hopefully this helps you understand why.
So, you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. What’s next?
Fortunately, there are very effective medications available that can quickly control blood pressure. It goes without saying that if you are prescribed one of these blood pressure medications and your doctor wants you to take it, please do!
But will I be on this medication forever?
It is very likely that your doctor will not do any fancy diagnostic testing to figure out why you have high blood pressure, as this is expensive and often unhelpful. It is their job to make sure your blood pressure is well controlled, and medications work well to achieve this. But that certainly does not mean that there is nothing you can do to help! In fact, there are a lot of things you can do, and in many cases, some dedicated work on addressing your underlying causes of high blood pressure can help you get off of those medications (with the help of your doctor of course).
Our Take on Blood Pressure:
While it is important to discuss your personal blood pressure goals with your doctor (especially if you are on medications), we feel that the ultimate goal should be to keep your blood pressure at or below 120/80 without the use of medications. If you can do this consistently then you can rest assured that you are avoiding the dangers that come with high blood pressure. This brings about our next topic, which is a question we get all the time: What are the best ways to naturally lower your blood pressure?
Quick side note:
We are well aware that a simple google search will tell you that in order to lower blood pressure you should: Eat healthy, stop smoking, improve your sleep, lose weight, and exercise. While this is certainly valid advice, we have dedicated an entire library of material to addressing these things in great detail. We highly recommend you click around our website and consider subscribing to gain access to the entirety of what we have to offer. That said, below are some actionable things you can do and some finer points that we tell our clients.
Best Ways to Naturally Lower Your Blood Pressure
1: Do your best to avoid highly processed foods
We encourage our clients to ask themselves: “How different is the food I am about to eat from its original form?”. Has it been extracted, treated, enhanced, or preserved with any hard to pronounce chemicals? If it has been then you may want to reconsider your choice as these things are likely to cause inflammation, contain high amounts of sodium, and contribute to high blood pressure. If food doesn’t expire for 3 years, it might be worth asking what they did to it to achieve that!
When grocery shopping, try to stick to the outside of the store and avoid the aisles, as the aisles are where the processed food lives.
Unfortunately, there is no “perfect” diet to lower blood pressure, but there are definitely some key points to keep in mind when considering dietary changes.
2: Decrease your sodium (salt) intake
Decreasing salt in the diet is a very well researched method to lower blood pressure. The general consensus among health professionals is to keep sodium intake below 2300 mg per day, but that below 1000 mg is even better for lowering blood pressure.
Consider this: Many of the pre-made noodle cups you find in the grocery store have over 1000 mg of sodium in just one serving.
How can I reduce my salt intake?
Aside from the obvious step of putting less salt on your food, we recommend taking a trip down the spice aisle and finding some new favorites to serve as salt substitutes. Adding different seasonings like garlic, ginger, rosemary, turmeric, and sage can add delicious flavor without adding more sodium. Give it a try!
What about changing from table salt to sea salt?
Sea salt has become increasingly popular in the last few years as it is naturally occurring and contains numerous minerals that are essential for human health. But is there any benefit in terms of blood pressure?
While the minerals in sea salt are good, the true sodium content between table salt and sea salt is essentially the same. That said, many find that sea salt has stronger flavor and that less of it is needed to achieve the desired flavor. This can lead to a reduction in sodium intake in many cases. We count that as a win for sea salt.
What does the research say about sea salt?
To our knowledge there have not been any human trials comparing table salt to sea salt when it comes to blood pressure, so we can’t say anything for certain. That said, there was a rat study done in 2017 that showed that rats consuming sea salt had lower blood pressure when compared to rats that consumed table salt. We would love to see a study on how sea salt affects blood pressure in humans.
Final thought on sodium:
We often hear clients say that their doctor checked their sodium, and it was in the normal range. While dietary sodium can certainly affect the sodium on your blood panel, having normal blood sodium doesn’t mean you are in the clear to eat as much salt as you want. The sodium we see in our blood panel is much more than a marker of dietary salt intake.
3: Moderate your caffeine intake if you have very high blood pressure
The research on caffeine and blood pressure is very interesting, and not as straight forward as you might think. Keep in mind however that most research is done on coffee, as this has traditionally been the caffeinated drink of choice. While caffeine is known to raise blood pressure in the few hours after being consumed, there is evidence to show that people who regularly consume caffeine in the form of coffee actually have lower blood pressure in the long term. That said, the general advice on caffeine is as follows:
- If you have very high blood pressure, heavy consumption of caffeine (defined as greater than 2 cups of coffee per day) has been shown to increase your risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke.
- In those with normal blood pressure, regular consumption of caffeine does not seem to carry an increased risk of high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease. So, enjoy that morning coffee!
Important to note:
The type of caffeine you are consuming matters. Many energy drinks are loaded with sugar and other additives which can be harmful to our bodies in the long term. The same goes for many coffee drinks which often have sugary syrups added to them for flavor. Coffee is known to have polyphenols and antioxidants which have a number of health benefits. This may be responsible for the decreased blood pressure in habitual coffee drinkers.
The takeaway:
If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you will benefit from cutting down on your caffeine, but if you have normal blood pressure and enjoy your drip coffee in the morning, sip away! As with everything, moderation is key.
4: Moderate your alcohol consumption
When it comes to alcohol consumption, the effect on blood pressure is very clear. Researchers followed over 19,000 individuals over an average of just over 5 years. They concluded that alcohol consumption was directly related to higher blood pressure, and the more alcohol one consumes the higher the blood pressure goes. So, if you have high blood pressure, cutting back on alcohol will certainly benefit you.
As we have written before, there is no consensus on what constitutes a “healthy” amount of alcohol. While consuming 1-2 drinks per day has been shown to have health benefits in some studies, many doctors now argue that the healthiest amount of alcohol is zero.
To read more about alcohol, please visit our dedicated post about Making Healthy Choices with Alcohol.
5: Hydrate!
Believe it or not, being dehydrated can actually cause your blood pressure to go up. What is likely happening here is that dehydration causes your blood to become thicker, and your heart and blood vessels have to work harder to deliver blood to your tissues. By staying hydrated we are decreasing the workload on our heart and allowing blood to move more easily through our circulation.
When it comes to water intake, we recommend you discuss your daily water intake goals with your doctor. People with certain medical conditions need to be careful about the amount of water they drink, so there is no “one size fits all” approach to water intake. That said, for otherwise healthy people the National Academy of Medicine recommends 104 ounces of water per day for men and 72 ounces of water per day for women.
Keep in mind…
Things like caffeine and alcohol have a diuretic effect on our bodies and cause us to lose water. Think of these drinks as negative hydration, so make sure you are making up for your losses!
Other Lifestyle Changes to Make to Lower Blood Pressure:
1. Get moving and get regular exercise
No surprise here! Research has consistently demonstrated that regular exercise can improve blood pressure. Check out our write ups on Zone 2 Exercise, Resistance Training, and Interval Training to learn more about the many health benefits exercise has to offer.
When it comes to improving blood pressure, one type of exercise has emerged as a clear winner. According to a British study that included over 15,000 participants, it was found that regular isometric exercises carried the greatest benefit in terms of blood pressure lowering effect. These exercises include things like wall sits, planks, side planks, and bridges.
According to the study, isometric exercises lowered systolic blood pressure (the top number) by over 8 points, while a combination of aerobic and resistance training lowered systolic blood pressure by a little over 6 points.
If you aren’t a regular exerciser, we highly recommend you make this a part of your routine as your body will thank you in the years to come. Not sure how to start? Visit our Exercise section to learn about the most efficient ways to exercise.
What about sauna and cold plunging for cardiovascular health?
When it comes doing saunas and cold plunges, also known as hot/cold therapy, we recommend you talk to your doctor before taking these on. While there is evidence that regular sauna use is associated with a decreased risk of developing high blood pressure and in fact can result in lower blood pressures after the sauna, the act of getting in the sauna raises blood pressure by up to 15 points. You would need to check with your doctor regarding the safety of regular sauna use, but there does seem to be some benefit.
As far as the cold plunge, you get similar increases in blood pressure when you first take the dip, but what happens in the long term remains to be seen. There are claims that cold therapy can decrease blood pressure in the long run, but we have not seen good research to back that claim up.
2: Try to lose weight if you are overweight
This is another one that may not come as a surprise, but the connection between weight loss and lower blood pressure is undeniable. The amount of blood pressure reduction you get varies depending on the research you look at, but if you remember one thing it is this: As weight goes, blood pressure goes. Weight goes up, so does blood pressure. Weight goes down… you get our point.
The amount of blood pressure reduction you get varies depending on the research you look at, but if you remember one thing it is this: As weight goes, blood pressure goes.
We chose to put weight loss lower on the list for a couple of reasons. If you have read this far you’ve learned about the significant benefits that exercise and a clean diet have on our blood pressure. But the added benefit of diet and exercise is… weight loss!
Weight loss is often frustrating journey, but we have helped many people lose weight over the years. We have a lot to say on this topic, so if weight loss is something you are interested in, please schedule a 1 on 1 consultation with us to come up with a strategy that will be tailored to fit your lifestyle.
3: Manage your stress
This is a tough one for a lot of folks, as stress is often an unavoidable companion that tags along in our daily lives. Stress, especially in the short term, causes the release of our “fight or flight” signals that raise blood pressure significantly. Have you have ever been in the ER or Urgent Care and were surprised to see your blood pressure 20-30 points higher than normal? You can thank stress for that.
The problem is that when stress becomes chronic in nature it can have serious consequences on our blood pressure. While it would be nice to snap your fingers and make stress disappear, there are some very good ways to help reduce stress. The more we can minimize stress in our lives, the better our blood pressure can be.
Check out our dedicated writeup on How to Manage Stress in our daily lives to learn more.
Supplementation To Lower Blood Pressure
As many of you have already found out, a google search of supplements to lower blood pressure yields a variety of results with variations of “The Top (insert number here) Supplements to Lower Blood Pressure”. While these lists can be a helpful guide and are often supported by good research, one of the most common concerns we hear from clients is that despite lists like this they still aren’t quite sure where to start. It is certainly not practical (for your stomach or your wallet) to take every supplement on these lists, so we hope to provide you with some clarity on how to get the most out of your supplements while not breaking the bank. For reference, we have listed the most commonly touted supplements for lowering blood pressure:
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil)
- Garlic Supplements
- Potassium Supplements
- Magnesium Supplements
- Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) Supplements
- Hibiscus Tea
- Beetroot (Nitrate) Supplements
- Green Tea Extract
- Coco Flavanols
- L-Arginine or L-Citrulline
- Trimethylglycine
- Hawthorne
- Olive Leaf
- Vitamin D
What is the Rose Health Services Approach?
When it comes to taking supplements to lower blood pressure, we like to keep a few very important things in mind:
