Hypertension

Introduction

• Stage 1 hypertension with low cardiovascular disease risk can be managed by lifestyle changes alone for the first 3-6 months and then re-evaluated. Many will require medications (1)

NUTRITION

• Limit daily sodium intake to < 1.5g (1)

• Potassium rich diet unless contraindicated (1)

• Dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet: 8-10 servings of fruit and vegetables daily, whole grains, low sodium, low-fat proteins (1)

• Limit alcohol intake to max 20-30g/d for men, or 10-20g/d for women (1). Excessive alcohol intake increases blood pressure (3)

• Beetroot: A daily intak of 70-250 ml beetroot juice reduces systolic blood pressure in people with arterial hypertension (2)

• A high intake of dietary fiber reduces blood pressure (4)

• Replacing carbohydrates with soy protein or dairy protein has been shown to reduce blood pressure (4)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

• Regular physical activity, preferrably 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise 5 days a week or 150 min / week (1)

• Regular aerobic or resistance training may reduce blood pressure on average 4-6 mmHg (3)

SLEEP

• Insufficient sleep (< 7 hours) is a risk factor for hypertension, and increasing the amount of sleep may lower blood pressure  (3)

SMOKING

• Smoking cessation for maintaining good vascular health. However smoking cessation is not associated with reduced blood pressure (1)

WEIGHT

• Weight loss if obese (1)

• Weight circumference for men: < 102cm. 

• Weight circumference for women: < 88cm

• For every kg weight loss blood pressure is reduced by 0.5 - 2 mmHG (3)