How I Plan To Lower My Blood Pressure In 2010

11 January, 2010 (11:27) | BlogHer, Health, heart disease, life, women, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

How I Plan To Lower My Blood Pressure In 2010 – cross posted at BlogHer.com

My last post was asking the question – Are you healthier than you were 10 years ago? [If you didn't already, go over and let me know by taking the poll at the bottom of the post]. Today’s post is about how I plan to get healthier (and reduce my blood pressure) in the next year.

This isn’t so much a resolution, as it is a project. You see, even with medication my blood pressure and heart rate are extremely high. I even wrote about it here…

In 2008 I wrote a detailed post (with links and videos) about the dangers of heart disease and how to know if you’re at risk.

So I understand the dangers of not getting my blood pressure under control, it really is a matter of life or death. I really want to be around in my 50’s and 60’s (maybe even my 70’s), and I can’t do that without finding a way to lower my blood pressure and heart rate. And I’m not ready to give-up trying just yet.

Before I tell you what I plan on doing to lower my blood pressure in 2010, let me tell you what I have already done…

In the last two years I’ve been focusing on making healthier food choices, and getting to a more healthy weight. Because it is a known fact that losing even as little as 10 pounds can help decrease blood pressure. For the most part I’ve been successful, but in order to be at the most beneficial weight for my frame (according to BMI), I really need to lose 10 to 15 pounds more. However, I’m still not going to go on a diet. I do plan to continue making healthy food choices and avoiding sugar as much as possible.

In a post from last year – Seven Tips For Reducing Blood Pressure, I wrote in detail about the seven most important things we need to do, if we want to lower our blood pressure. Since many of these tips I am already using, I decided to take look at the list again to see if there was something else I could be doing better.

Tip #1 is Lose 10 Pounds — I’ve done that.

Tip #2 is Eat A Healthy Diet — I’ve been doing that, and plan to continue.

Tip #3 is Get Regular Exercise — I’ve NOT been doing this.

Tip #4 is Reduce Sodium Intake — I have been doing that.

Tip #5 is Don’t Smoke — I’ve never smoked.

Tip #6 is Cut Back on Caffeine – I’ve basically cut caffeine out altogether.

Tip #7 is Avoid Stress — Is that even possible?

Clearly, there are two places I need a lot of improvement in if I want to lower my blood pressure. I am getting little to no exercise, and there are very few days that I’m not stressing-out over something. So…Lowering my blood pressure in 2010 is going to have to include reducing stress and increasing exercise. I think know I can do that.

Now for what I plan on doing. This is from a post I wrote yesterday for the More Birthdays Campaign…

My New Year’s resolution is about doing everything I can do to have more birthdays. At the moment the one thing that could keep me from doing that is my blood pressure. I’ve had blood pressure and heart rate problems since my twenties, but now in my forties, I know I’m at a much greater risk for having a heart attack or stroke. So this year I plan on taking specific steps to hopefully lower my blood pressure. Like Morra Arrons-Mele, I would like to make these changes holistically. I’m still planning to take my medications, but even on medication my blood pressure is still not controlled.

Here are the steps I plan to take in 2010…

1. Continue to eat healthy, but kick it up a notch.

2. Reduce stress by using meditation and Reiki on a regular basis.

3. Get the Wii Fit and begin doing light exercising and yoga.

[see full post - My Bday List: A resolution to better health in 2010]

This may not sound like much, but even small changes can have a positive affect on our overall health (especially on blood pressure). And although I am confident that making these changes will help, I still plan on keeping a detailed journal of my progress. Each day I will record my blood pressure along with the steps I took that day to reduce stress, increase exercise, and eat healthy. I hope that seeing my results in black and white will be the encouragement I need to continue on this healthier path.

Wish me luck. And let me know if you’ve found something that helps keep your blood pressure under control.

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