to find out.
{
What lifestyle changes can help?
}
High blood pressure does damage on a daily basis. at’s why you need
to take action every day to help protect yourself. Work to:
Try to eat less
than ,
milligrams of sodium, which is less than teaspoon of salt, a day.
Stay at a healthy weight.
Exercise on a regular basis.
Quit smoking, if
you smoke.
Manage stress.
{
How is high blood pressure
treated?
}
e rst line of treatment for
high blood pressure is always life-
style changes—eating a healthy
diet, exercising, stopping smok-
ing (if you smoke), maintaining
a healthy weight and managing
stress. Your doctor may also pre-
scribe medication to lower your
blood pressure. It’s important to
faithfully follow all parts of your
treatment plan. at’s the only
way to consistently keep your
blood pressure at healthy levels.
{
Can kids have high blood
pressure?
}
Yes, they can. It’s a myth that
the disease strikes only middle-aged
and older adults. Children of all
ages—even babies—can have high
blood pressure. Kids who are over-
weight are at particular risk of devel-
oping the disease.
Talk with your pediatrician to nd
out what’s a healthy blood pressure for
your child—it will vary depending on
gender, age and height. As with adults,
if you nd and treat high blood pres-
sure in children at an early stage, you
can help prevent serious health issues.
{
Are there any gender differences in high blood pressure?
}
High blood pressure is an equal opportunity condition—
men and women have the same lifetime chance of developing it.
However, hypertension does practice some gender-related age
discrimination. It strikes more men when they are or younger
but more women and older.
For women, this late-in-life surge may be related to hormonal
and other changes that result from menopause. Even women
with normal blood pressure their whole lives have a signi cantly
increased risk of having it go up a er menopause.
Additional source: National Institutes of Health
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H E A L T H
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