Preventing Hypertension - Jin's Health Tips

Hypertension, also know as High Blood Pressure has become one of the most pressing health issues especially in developed countries. Although there are several forms of treatment available, hypertension cannot be totally cured. As the old saying goes "Prevention is better than cure", therefore, Jin's Health tips would like to share with you ways on preventing high blood pressure.

Let me first give you a brief description on what is hypertension. Hypertension is the increase in blood pressure of the arteries. This increase in blood pressure opens up the Pandora's box of many other health problems such as atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, dementia, ischemic attack, kidney failure and even loss of vision.

Classification	Systolic pressure		Diastolic pressure
	mmHg	kPa	mmHg	kPa
Normal	90–119	12–15.9	60–79	8.0–10.5
Prehypertension	120–139	16.0–18.5	80–89	10.7–11.9
Stage 1	140–159	18.7–21.2	90–99	12.0–13.2
Stage 2	≥160	≥21.3	≥100	≥13.3
Isolated systolic hypertension	≥140	≥18.7	<90	<12.0
Source: American Heart Association (2003).[5]

This is a guide as to which category does your blood pressure falls under.

Symptoms

If you exhibit the following symptoms, please consult your doctor to check if you have hypertension:

1. Chest pain
2. Breathing problems
3. Dizziness
4. Irregular heartbeat
5. Blood in urine
6. Problems with vision
7. vomiting

How to Prevent Hypertension

1. Regular exercise
2. Reduce dietary sugar
3. Reduce dietary salt
4. Refrain from smoking
5. Reduce stress
6. Abstain from alcohol

Modern medication such as ACE inhibitors, ARB drugs, alpha blockers, beta blockers and diuretics works to reduce the blood pressure which lowers the risk of suffering from the effects of hypertension. However, Jin's Health tips strongly recommends that a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise and healthy diet to achieve the best result.

If you do have any queries, do feel free to email Jin's health tips at tanjinlin@gmail.com