Lifestyle Changes Improve Blood Pressure

May 14, 2003 -- New national blood pressure guidelines stress that a healthy lifestyle is critical to preventing and treating high blood pressure.

The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure report says lifestyle changes including weight loss, exercise, eating less salt, and drinking less alcohol can go a long way toward decreasing blood pressure, lowering heart-disease risk, and making blood pressure drugs work better.

The table at right shows how the report says such lifestyle changes can reduce systolic blood pressure (the "top" number in a blood pressure reading). By lowering your systolic blood pressure, your diastolic blood pressure would likely come down as well.

Lifestyle Change

Recommendation

Appx. Systolic BP Reduction

Weight loss

Normal BMI of 18.5 - 24.9*

5 - 20 points per 22 lbs. lost

Follow DASH eating plan*

Diet high in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and low in fat

8 -14 points

Salt reduction

Limit salt to 2,400 milligrams per day

2 - 8 points

Exercise

30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week

4 - 9 points

Moderate drinking

Limit alcohol to no more than two drinks per day

2 - 4 points

*BMI is body mass index, a measurement of the ratio of height to weight. It can be calculated by dividing your weight (in kilograms) by your height (in meters, squared). Or it can be calculated by multiplying weight (in pounds) by 705, then dividing by height (in inches) twice.

**The report recommends people with high blood pressure follow the DASH diet -- Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This eating plan is based on a daily intake of 2,000 calories:

• 7-8 servings per day of grains and grain products (these can include breakfast cereal, whole grain bread, rice, pasta, etc.)
• 4-5 servings of vegetables
• 4-5 servings of fruit
• 2-3 servings of low-fat or nonfat dairy foods
• No more than two servings per day of meat, poultry, and fish
• 4-5 servings of nuts, seeds, and legumes per week
• 2-3 servings of fats and oils (serving example: 1 teaspoon of margarine or oil, 1 tablespoon of salad dressing or mayonnaise)
• 5 servings of sweets per week (only low-fat treats like sugar, jelly, or sorbet)