The 45 million Americans who earlier this month went to bed with normal blood pressure and woke up "prehypertensive" aren't necessarily destined for drug prescriptions to control the problem.
Here's what anyone at or beyond a blood pressure reading of 120 over 80 can do to avoid qualifying as prehypertensive according to federal guidelines released this month. The guidelines abruptly changed the criteria for determining "normal" blood pressure:
- Move your body. Dr. Robert Bonow, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Medical School and president of the American Heart Association, said regular physical activity creates hormones that relax blood vessels and reduce pressure. Thirty minutes a day for three days a week is a good start.
What's more, increasing physical activity helps you lose fat, which otherwise secretes proteins that constrict the blood vessels, Bonow said.
- Follow the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan, which has been widely researched. It features whole grains (seven to eight daily servings), vegetables (four to five servings), fruits (four to five servings), nuts/seeds/dry beans (four to five servings weekly) and low-fat or fat-free dairy products (two to three daily servings) and removes meat/poultry/fish (two or fewer 3-ounce servings each day), processed foods and sweets as centerpieces of meals and snacks.
Until May 14, any blood pressure reading of 120 over 80 or lower was considered optimal. Normal was below 130 over 85, and "borderline hypertensive" ranged from 130 to 139 over 85 to 90.
Now readings of 120 over 80 and above are considered prehypertensive. The mark for high blood pressure or hypertension remains 140 over 90 and above.
Federal officials said their intention is not to frighten the public but to "get action" among a wider group of U.S. adults who would benefit from a change in physical activity and eating habits.