Ask HN: How do you deal with high blood pressure?

[ezekg]

I hadn't gotten my blood pressure checked in at least 3 years. I went to the dentist last week and my blood pressure was really high for my age (28), albeit was a stressful day, it was pretty alarming to see it so high.

I have been actively monitoring my BP this week, with detailed notes on how my work day is going and any caffeine intake. After reviewing, I'm realizing that I need to make some changes to reduce stress, caffeine intake, and start making some life style changes.

Since a lot of us in tech likely have high-stress jobs, what do you personally do to deal with high BP?

[gvand]

You don't say how much above normal it was and for how long or give details about your current physical state, just in case I'd recommend a general health check-up. My guess is that as most of us you don't do those regularly.

Hypertension is most of the times but not always caused by your life style choices and can be fixed (not dealt with) improving weight, diet, fitness level (chronic stress and caffeine/smoking are a factor too).

For diet recommendations you could look into DASH[1] to get an idea of the direction you should take.

Anyway, this is a good time to start improving your life style as any[2].

[1] https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide...

[2] I did. It worked. A lot.

[southern_cross]

Doing just a few minutes of deep breathing exercises usually makes my blood pressure drop dramatically. It's hard to keep this habit up, though, but I know that there are apps and devices available to help you out here.

This isn't really a "relaxation" exercise or anything, although it helps. Rather, because we all sit on our keisters most of the time we forget to take the kinds of deep breaths that we would ordinarily take while being out and about and active, and the shallow breathing that we end up doing instead stresses our system.

Of course, actually "being out and about and active" would generally help a lot, too, as would pretty much any increase in exercise levels.

[helph67]

I'm not a medical professional but do suffer with high blood pressure. My recommendations are 1. reduce your caffeine intake (hopefully to zero) 2. reduce your salt intake 3. eat beetroot/garlic 4. exercise with handgrips.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4NgZffmPmmR4w9s9BD... https://www.1mhealthtips.com/easy-handgrip-exercise-to-lower...

[BjoernKW]

Any useful answer would depend on the blood pressure measurements and factors such as stress, weight, exercise regimen and diet.

Lifestyle changes will only get you so far in the short term.

If your systolic pressure (the first value in blood pressure readings) is through the roof (for your age: constantly or predominantly higher than 140) you'll likely need medication to manage that condition in the short term before figuring out the root cause and a healthier lifestyle in the long run.

[PureTruth1]

You don't need to "deal" with it. You simply need to fix it, and that's really, really, incredibly simple. It's all about lifestyle changes, especially dietary ones. Look into fasting and then a plant based diet rich mostly in fruits and veggies. High blood pressure is one of the easiest ailments to get rid of, without being on pharmaceuticals or other nasty crap.

[Mirioron]

I'm doing nothing, because I have no healthcare available to me. I know it's bad for me though.

Your blood pressure could simply be high because of your genetics or weight. You should go see a PCP about it and they will refer you further. Hypertension is something that you don't feel affects you but the damage from it builds up over the years. So, go see a doctor about it.

[icedchai]

Go to a doctor, get a prescription. High BP is something you don't want to screw with.

[aurizon]

What is you age, weight, blood specs etc, blood pressure, activity level?