In 2017, the American Academy of Cardiology (ACC) and AHA issued new guidelines for high blood pressure, which define hypertension as 130/80 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or higher. The standard used to be 140/90 mmHg. Under the new guidelines, nearly half of Americans meet the definition for high blood pressure. What’s more, only about a quarter of adults with high blood pressure in the United States have their condition under control, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While you can’t always control whether you get high blood pressure, there are healthy lifestyle habits you can develop to help prevent hypertension and reduce your risk of high blood pressure–related health problems in the future.
Hypertension Prevention Factors You Can Control
Your age, a family history of hypertension, and ethnicity are among the hypertension risk factors that are out of your control. When it comes to preventing high blood pressure, the idea is to focus on the risk factors that you can change. “We can’t do anything about our age, but we can do something about our lifestyle,” says Olugbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MPH, a clinical hypertension specialist, the director of the Center for Healthful Behavior Change, and a professor in the department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. To avoid a hypertension diagnosis, make these healthy lifestyle choices. Take a look at your lifestyle habits and decide where you can make changes to help prevent hypertension. Conquer small goals, such as snacking on fruits and vegetables instead of junk food, and continue to practice these good habits until they are a part of your daily routine. Adopting these lifestyle changes can help prevent high blood pressure if your blood pressure is currently under control or lead to lower blood pressure if your numbers are already elevated. Additional reporting by Ashley Welch.
