Paying attention to one’s weight, practicing physical exercise, limiting salt intake and eating a balanced diet help maintain or even lower blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension.
- Patients with stage 1 hypertension are those who have a systolic blood pressure between 140 and 159 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure between 90 and 99 mm Hg.
- The lifestyle change recommendations are only for patients who have a low risk of heart attack or stroke within 10 years.
- Good habits are: adopting a diet, limiting salt intake, exercising daily, limiting alcohol consumption and avoiding smoking.
Medicines are not automatic. Experts fromAmerican Heart Association shared new guidelines for healthcare professionals in which they recommend at least 6 months of adherence to a healthy lifestyle for patients who have mildly elevated blood pressure before “switch to drugs”. These new indications were published on April 29 in the journal Hypertension.
A reassessment after 6 months
Patients with stage 1 hypertension are people who have a systolic blood pressure between 140 and 159 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure between 90 and 99 mm Hg, according to the definition of the High Authority for Health (HAS). They are generally young adults and the risk of cardiovascular events is low. The markers and symptoms are also mild, whether it is the level of coronary calcium, cardiac hypertrophy or even atherosclerosis in the arteries of the neck. Health professionals generally request an adaptation of lifestyles to reduce blood pressure, but this is done in addition to taking medication to reduce the risk of developing a cardiovascular problem. For the first time, guidelines go in the direction of starting directly with a change in lifestyle before thinking about prescribing drugs.
The researchers of theAmerican Heart Association recommend that patients suffering from stage 1 hypertension and presenting a low risk, estimated at less than 10%, of heart attack or stroke within 10 years will have to start by reviewing their lifestyle before repeating a blood pressure control 6 months later. If their blood pressure has not fallen below the targets (<140/90 mm Hg), then the prescription of a medication should be considered. For those whose 10-year risk of heart attack or stroke is greater than 10%, experts recommend combining blood pressure medication with adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Limit your salt intake
The adoption of a healthy lifestyle includes different levels. The first step is to have an ideal weight, with a BMI between 18.5 and 25. Then, you must practice physical exercise every day, moderately to vigorously, for at least 30 minutes. This also includes controlling your diet by adopting a healthy and balanced diet by increasing your potassium intake and reducing saturated fats and fatty acids. It is also necessary to pay attention to your salt intake which, if it remains too high, erases the benefits of a healthy diet. Finally, patients are advised to limit their alcohol consumption and not to smoke.
Only one out of two hypertensives would be aware of their pathology. Indeed, less than one in two French people have their blood pressure checked regularly, although this check is almost systematic during a medical consultation. What’s more, among the 53% who dispense with this control, one in five said they drink or smoke every day. This carelessness reveals a dangerous lack of information on the subject. Indeed, it would seem that 50% of people questioned are unaware that hypertension can kill.
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