High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, is referred to often as a silent killer because significant damage has already been done to the patient's body before any obvious symptoms show up. Many patients find out about their high blood pressure during a routine physical without having experienced any symptoms. Do not take high blood pressure lightly just because you don't feel the symptoms. A large percentage of people who suffer heart attacks or congestive heart failure started out with symptom free high blood pressure. No factor is more closely associated with heart disease than high blood pressure. A third of the population will develop high blood pressure.

A standard procedure of any medical physical examination is to check blood pressure. Most often this will be done by the nurse either before entering or upon first entering the examination room. Take into consideration a condition called "White Coat Syndrome" in which nervousness about visiting the doctor actually causes increased blood pressure. This is a common reaction that has sometimes resulted in trips to the emergency room. If you experience this, consider buying a relatively cheap home digital blood pressure monitor. Wrist units are available which are very simple to use and are very accurate. Do not use this home device as a replacement for doctor visits though.

Although hypertension is the leading cause of strokes and coronary heart disease, the sad fact is that the cause of the disease is unknown or unclear in more than 90% of the cases. There are no easy answers to why high blood pressure occurs and there is no simple catch-all solution to the problem. Hypertension is most effectively treated holistically with major lifestyle changes.

Normally, blood pressure is naturally controlled by a person's body, keeping it within very strict limits. If blood pressure drops, the body contracts the arteries, decreasing the size of the blood's pathway, thus increasing the resistance encountered by the blood trying to push its way through. Blood pressure increases. If blood pressure becomes too high, the body will reverse this process. In people with long term hypertension, this process does not function correctly for some reason and must be managed by diet and drugs.

Some of the factors medical authorities believe contribute to high blood pressure are:

* Excessive alcohol

* Tobacco smoking

* Failure to maintain normal weight

* Excessive amounts of dietary sodium

* Excessive Stress

* Taking in too much caffeine

* Inherited tendencies

Most of the factors listed are well within our individual control. We can make great progress toward controlling blood pressure with natural techniques. Switching to a healthy diet with more fruits and vegetables and less fat can make a huge difference. Losing just a few pounds of excess fat can work wonders in lowering blood pressure. Easy exercise such as walking for 30 minutes 3 times a week has beneficial effects on blood pressure. Switching to the low sodium DASH diet has been proven in studies to lower blood pressure. These actions will have greater effects when combined. Be sure to consult your medical doctor before beginning any new exercise program or making major changes in your diet.