High Blood Pressure (The Silent Killer)

High blood pressure is often thought of as a silent killer because it can pave the way for heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure without any warning signs. People walk around and live their lives and don't realise they are harbouring something that is liable to either kill or physically disable them at any minute.

It is a worrying statement that death from cardiovascular disease is increasing every year in developed countries and growing numbers of men and women under the age of 40 are affected by high blood pressure. This now also affects children,

Many studies have shown that weight gain is related to a significant rise in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. One of the reasons why this is so, is that fat requires an adequate supply of blood and each and every pound of extra fat within the body increases the total length of the small blood vessels by around one mile.

Luckily, the loss of extra weight can result in a significant reduction in both high blood pressure in people suffering from hypertension and the likelihood of it developing in overweight people who have a normal blood pressure.

Salt intake is another factor which should be closely monitored. Research into salt intake and hypertension has shown that moderate and severe hypertension seem to get better if the patient is on a salt-restricted diet. The effects of this measure on mild hypertension are inconclusive, however health care professionals still insist it is better to be safe than sorry, and salt should either be reduced or excluded from the diet altogether.

In the interests of safety, therefore, it is advisable to reduce salt intake. This can be achieved in two ways:

a) by using a potassium rich substitute
b) not adding any more salt to food.

Exercise is another factor.

Nowadays so many of us live such sedentary lifestyles, that we rarely get anywhere near the exercise we need. Exercise doesn't have to be strenuous and you don't have to join the gym.

Going for a brisk walk three times a week for thirty minutes improves the metabolism and helps reduce both excess weight and blood pressure.