Philippine Nurse

Many people suffer from hypertension (also known high blood pressure). Blood pressure is essential to move blood from your heart through your veins and arteries. But when the pressure is too high it can become dangerous, making your heart work harder and increasing your risk for heart problems, such as heart attacks and strokes. Hypertension may also increases your potential risk for various problems such as kidney disease even blindness.

Hypertension has numerous causes and it is difficult to pinpoint any one cause. Sometimes it could also be a side effect of any medication that you may be taking. This is referred to as secondary hypertension. You can take precautions against hypertension by regular checkups with doctors to figure out whether you are hypertensive or not.

The good news is that hypertension is treatable. If you change your eating habits and make sure you get plenty of exercise you should be able to reduce your blood pressure. Your doctor may also prescribe certain medications that can help to lower your blood pressure but you should make these lifestyle changes as well. Reducing stress and learning how to deal with it is also beneficial.

Being overweight certainly contributes hypertension. Studies have shown that even losing is little as ten pounds may be beneficial in lowering blood pressure. If you begin exercising and eating healthy you should be able drop ten pounds quite easily. Just don't to lose the weight immediately. It takes time to gain weight and time to lose weight; you should focus on changing your habits of exercise and eating, not just on losing weight.

If you are unsure about how to start losing weight, consider joining a gym and getting a personal trainer. You only need a few sessions and in that time they can show you how to use each of the machines to your full advantage as well as plan out a program that will help you lose weight and become more active.

A nutritionist is also a good idea if you have poor eating habits. They will often have you write down for a week what you're eating and then come up with a plan that you can stick to. Nothing frightens people more than the prospect of trading their chicken fingers for carrot sticks. Nutritionists can help make the transition to eating healthy smooth and simple.

If you smoke you need to quit. It's as simple as that. There is no excuse for smoking and no health benefits whatsoever which can cause only serious problems. Smoking raises your blood pressure and creates dangerous hypertension. You need to quit as soon as possible, not only for your health but also for the health of those around you. Second hand smoke is extremely dangerous as well. Be sure to talk to your doctor about different options to help you quit smoking since you don't need to do it on your own.

Hypertension is a very serious condition but it is treatable. You need to start making changes in your lifestyle today to combat the potentially dangerous problems that go hand in hand with hypertension. Even if you don't have hypertension you should quit smoking, start exercising, and start eating healthy. Stopping health problems before they start is the best way to ensure you stay healthy and happy.