How to treat high blood pressure without medication?

People with high blood pressure should reduce salt intake and regularly monitor blood pressure at home or at the clinic - Photo: TUONG VY

Dr. Dao Le Phuong Trang, Department of Nutrition - Non-Communicable Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), said that treating high blood pressure is a long-term process, requiring regular monitoring and close coordination between the patient and the treating physician.

In addition, to achieve effective treatment, it is also necessary to control risk factors and associated diseases well.

According to Dr. Trang, treatment of high blood pressure includes non-drug treatment and drug treatment.

Non-pharmacological treatment or lifestyle changes are the cornerstone of treatment regardless of the stage of hypertension. In some patients with pre-hypertension or stage 1 hypertension, active lifestyle changes can help control blood pressure well without the need for antihypertensive drugs.

- Reasonable diet : Reduce salt intake (

- Maintain ideal weight : BMI 18.5 - 22.9kg/ ^m2 ; waist circumference

- Limit alcohol and beer as much as possible : Drink no more than 2 units of alcohol/day (men), 1 unit of alcohol/day (women).

In addition, you should stop smoking, stay away from smoky environments; increase physical activity, at least 150 minutes/week; do at least moderate activity (walking, housework) 5 days/week, 30-60 minutes each day; avoid stress; relax, rest properly, avoid sudden cold.

For drug treatment, drug use is individualized based on the characteristics of each patient, prioritizing the selection and combination of drug groups to achieve target blood pressure early, with few side effects, and long-term use.

Among them, some groups of drugs recommended for the treatment of hypertension have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.

In addition, to achieve long-term treatment effectiveness with minimal dosage, patients need to comply with treatment, take the right medication, the right dose, not arbitrarily stop taking medication or reduce the dose without a doctor's instructions, regularly monitor blood pressure at home or at the clinic, and return for regular check-ups to be evaluated and have medication adjusted periodically.

Maintain blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg

MSc. Nguyen Xuan Tuan Anh, Cardiology Clinic - Examination Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that once diagnosed with high blood pressure, patients need to change their lifestyle and use medication as prescribed by their doctor to adjust their blood pressure to below 140/90 mmHg.

Many patients, even though they take medication regularly, still maintain the habit of eating salty foods, are under prolonged stress, lack of exercise... will also find it difficult to maintain stable blood pressure.

Doctors recommend that patients need to comply with long-term treatment as prescribed by the doctor, and return for a check-up immediately if blood pressure is unstable. In particular, people with underlying diseases such as diabetes, dyslipidemia... need to periodically return for specialist check-ups to maintain health indicators.

In addition, it is necessary to maintain a low-salt diet, limit stress, limit stimulants, exercise regularly... to effectively control blood pressure and prevent dangerous complications.

"One of the important priorities to help improve the effectiveness of treatment and blood pressure control is to promote health education communication, increase awareness of the disease, understand blood pressure targets in treatment and share with doctors when there are abnormalities in blood pressure index when self-monitoring at home," Dr. Tuan Anh emphasized.

Experts advise on how to measure blood pressure correctly

Rest in a quiet room for at least 5 - 10 minutes before measuring your blood pressure.

Do not use stimulants (coffee, smoking, alcohol) 2 hours before. Do not talk while measuring blood pressure.

The person having their blood pressure measured sits in a reclining chair, arms straight on a table, elbow creases at heart level, feet touching the floor, legs uncrossed (in addition, blood pressure can be measured in lying or standing positions). For the elderly or people with diabetes, standing blood pressure should also be measured to determine whether there is postural hypotension.

Wrap the cuff tightly around your arm, with the lower edge of the cuff 2cm above the elbow crease. Position the monitor so that the monitor or the scale's zero mark is level with your heart.

If not using an automatic measuring device, the brachial artery must be located before measuring to place the stethoscope. Inflate an additional 30mmHg after the pulse is no longer felt. Deflate at a rate of 2-3mmHg/beat. Systolic blood pressure corresponds to the first sound and diastolic blood pressure corresponds to the disappearance of the sound.

The first time you measure, you need to measure blood pressure in both arms. The arm with the higher blood pressure will be used to monitor blood pressure later.

Blood pressure should be measured at least twice, at least 1-2 minutes apart. If the difference between the two blood pressure measurements is more than 10mmHg, it should be measured again after resting for more than 5 minutes. The recorded blood pressure value is the average of the last two measurements.

In case of doubt, blood pressure can be monitored with an automatic home monitor or with a 24-hour automatic blood pressure monitor.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dieu-tri-khong-dung-thuoc-cho-nguoi-benh-tang-huet-ap-bang-cach-nao-20240528074827347.htm