Control Your Blood Pressure
High blood pressure affects a lot more than just your heart — it can impact your whole body, head to toe. But there are lots of things you can do to keep it in a healthy range.
In addition to lowering your risk for heart attack and stroke, keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range can really affect your quality of life. It can help:
- Lower your risk of memory loss and dementia. Did you know that lowering your blood pressure can protect your brain? Yep, keeping your blood pressure under control can lower your risk of dementia.
- Keep your vision sharp. High blood pressure can damage the blood vessels in your eyes, which can cause blurry vision — or even vision loss.
- Maintain your sex life. It’s true! All parts of your body need healthy blood flow to work like they’re supposed to. High blood pressure can make it hard for men to keep an erection — and it can affect sex drive for both men and women.
There are lots of things you can do to help keep your blood pressure in a healthy range. And the best part is that lots of those things can also improve your health in other ways. Here are just a few things you can do:
- Get your blood pressure checked, and do your best to track of your numbers — you can even get your own blood pressure cuff to check it at home
- Cut back on sodium (salt) to help control your blood pressure — try cooking more at home and learning what to watch out for when choosing packaged foods
- Get active to help keep your blood pressure in a healthy range — even 5 minutes a day can make a real difference to your health!
- If a doctor has prescribed medicine to help control your high blood pressure, follow all instructions for taking them