What should be considered when treating hypertension?

Ask:

My husband is 40 years old and has recently been diagnosed with hypertension. Besides taking medication, he has also been advised to change his lifestyle. Could you please provide more specific guidance?

Huong Lan ( Hanoi )

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Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, Director of the National Cardiovascular Institute, Bach Mai Hospital, answers:

Besides medication, lifestyle changes are the "golden key" in an overarching strategy for preventing and treating hypertension. Specifically:

A healthy and appropriate diet can effectively prevent and treat hypertension. The basic principles of choosing a diet are to increase consumption of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; low-fat dairy products with reduced saturated fat content; increased consumption of fish and poultry, and limited red meat; limited salt, sugary drinks, and sweets; and adequate supplementation of minerals and vitamins such as potassium and magnesium.

A healthy diet can help lower systolic blood pressure by up to 5mmHg (potentially equivalent to the effect of a low-dose blood pressure medication) in hypertensive patients and by about 3mmHg in non-hypertensive individuals.

In addition, other measures have also been shown to contribute to lowering blood pressure in people with hypertension and are very good in preventing hypertension in healthy people, such as: Regular exercise, especially full-body exercises like walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, cardio; a diet rich in potassium; and drinking less alcohol and alcoholic beverages.

By adhering to lifestyle changes effectively, safely, and sustainably, we can help prevent, treat, and manage hypertension.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/dieu-tri-tang-huyet-ap-can-luu-y-gi-192250310205256816.htm