In China, there is about one hypertension patient in every three adults. Now hypertension is not only found in the elderly, but also in children and adolescents, pregnancy hypertension, and middle-aged and young people. Hypertension is often called the “silent killer”. Most patients can get sick without any symptoms, and long-term pressure on the blood vessel wall that is higher than normal will lead to coronary heart disease, stroke and other serious diseases. Hypertension is a disease that can be controlled but needs lifelong treatment. It is mainly controlled by improving lifestyle and drug treatment. In addition to genetics and age, hypertension is mainly related to unhealthy lifestyle. So, what unhealthy lifestyles can cause high blood pressure?
1. High salt and fat food
Salt intake is closely related to hypertension. Studies have found that hypertension is easy to occur when the intake of potassium and calcium in the diet is insufficient or the proportion of sodium is increased. High potassium and high calcium diet can reduce the incidence rate of hypertension. In recent years, people attach great importance to the antihypertensive effect of potassium in diet. The study found that daily intake of 5-7g potassium can reduce systolic blood pressure by 4-9mmHg, and also reduce the mortality of hypertension complications. For patients with hypertension, increasing the intake of food potassium can promote diuresis, increase the excretion of sodium and cholesterol, increase vascular elasticity, and reduce blood pressure.
The incidence of dyslipidemia in middle-aged and elderly people is high. Eating more high-fat diet is easy to promote vascular aging. In addition, the middle-aged and elderly people have little activity, poor digestion and absorption function, and suffer from hypertension and arteriosclerosis. Therefore, the middle-aged and old people need to reduce the fat intake in their diet, especially animal fat. The daily fat supply of middle-aged and elderly people accounts for 20%~30% of the total daily calories. The dietary oil for the middle-aged and elderly is mainly vegetable oil, which contains more unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids are easier to burn than saturated fatty acids, and can also accelerate the decomposition of cholesterol into bile acids, which is conducive to reducing blood cholesterol content.
2. Smoking and drinking
Smoking is one of the important factors to promote hypertension and coronary heart disease. For a large number of smokers, the incidence rate of malignant hypertension has significantly increased, which will also increase the risk of sudden death from coronary heart disease. The study found that the incidence rate of stroke and coronary heart disease in long-term smoking patients with hypertension was 2-3 times higher than that in non-smoking patients.
A small amount of alcohol consumption per day has no acute effect on human blood pressure, but long-term heavy drinking will significantly increase the incidence rate of hypertension, and is positively correlated with the amount of alcohol consumption. Long term heavy drinking, increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The death rate of hypertension and stroke among those who drank 100ml of alcohol every day was three times that of those who did not drink. The increase of blood pressure caused by drinking may be related to the production of glucocorticoid and catecholamine in the body stimulated by alcohol, which further enhances the effects of angiotensin, vasopressin and aldosterone to increase blood pressure. Regular drinking will affect the efficacy of antihypertensive drugs, making hypertension difficult to control.
3. Sitting for a long time and lacking in exercise
Nowadays, many people don’t eat at home at ordinary times, talk about important things around the table all day, have little sports activities, and are not alert to their obesity. In the long run, it will lead to large bowels, fatty liver, high triglycerides, abnormal blood sugar, and elevated blood pressure. Fat people are about 4 times more likely to suffer from hypertension than ordinary people, and even 3/4 of them suffer from hypertension due to obesity.
4. Stay up late for a long time
Staying up late may be something many people often do. Many people have the habit of nightlife. Staying up late often will make their mental state tired and tense. In this way, blood circulation in the blood vessels will be blocked for a long time, which will lead to the emergence of hypertension.
In general, hypertension can be prevented from the following aspects:
1. Reduce sodium intake: The daily intake of salt per person should be controlled below 6g, and the intake of potassium should be increased appropriately. Potassium can promote the excretion of sodium, such as bananas, oranges, bean products, kelp, laver, etc., which are all potassium containing foods.
2. Reasonable diet: reduce the intake of red meat and animal fat, and eat more meat rich in unsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, seafood, etc.
3. Weight control: make the body mass index less than 24, the male waist circumference is recommended to be controlled below 90cm, and the female waist circumference is recommended to be controlled below 85cm.
4. Quit smoking: avoid secondhand smoke.
5. Alcohol restriction: It is recommended not to drink or limit drinking.
6. Increase sports: mainly with moderate intensity, such as cycling, walking, swimming, play badminton, etc. It is better to sweat slightly, 4-7 times a week, lasting 30-60 minutes each time.
7. Reduce mental stress: maintain mental balance.
8. Regular blood pressure monitoring: If the average value of the family self measured blood pressure is greater than 135-85mmHg for a period of time, it indicates that the patient may suffer from hypertension, and it is recommended to go to the hospital for timely treatment.
There is a free heart rate monitor app – “AFibCheck“, which can be downloaded and used after searching in the mobile app store. It is simple and convenient to operate.
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