High blood pressure can kill you and very often you don't even know that you have it because you don't really feel the effects so readily. Just because you don't feel it doesn't mean it isn't there and you can't make it go away by ignoring it either. If you continue to have high blood pressure for an extended period of time is actually causes narrowing of the blood vessels that makes your heart work even harder. It is this condition that can lead to strokes and heart attacks.

Do you know your family history? Do you know what your risk is for hypertension? Nearly a third of all adults have high blood pressure and you are even more at risk if your grandparents or your parents suffered a stroke or heart attack, and even more so if you are over weight and inactive. Genetics have been shown to have an influence on the risk factors but it has also been proven that a healthy lifestyle including dieting and exercise can reduce the risk.

There are certain segments of the population that start out with the deck stacked against them such as those who have diabetes, kidney disease, or those who are of African-American ethnicity living in the Southeastern United States. Postmenopausal women and those who are overweight as well as women taking contraceptives are at a higher risk for having high blood pressure. In addition over half of all adults over age 65 in the United States have high blood pressure.

Okay, so how do we lower it? The fastest proven way to lower blood pressure is by participating in regular exercise. The positive affects of exercise are lasting, your blood pressure after exercise gets lower and stays lower for as long as twenty two hours. It will also help you to lose excess weight which is a leading cause of hypertension.

The next step we can take to help reduce high blood pressure is to alter our diet and choose foods that are lower in salt and high in fiber. Keep the fat content and calories lower and limit the size of each meal. It is better to eat several small meals than three large ones. Also, alcohol is just empty calories If you drink either cut it way back or eliminate it altogether.

If you follow these suggestions and lose the excess weight then maintain the weight loss you will experience reduced cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and a lower resting heart rate which all helps to make your heart healthier.