Healthy Lifestyle a means in fighting Hypertension

What do you notice when you first found out that you have hypertension? Doctor will prescribe a medication to control the condition. After that they advised us to lose weight, healthy diet and limit alcohol intake.

 

Below is about the recently published results of the long-term term research in Finland implying how important, healthy lifestyle to control blood pressure.

The Finnish Hypertension Study

The study has 9,637 men and 11,430 women aged between 25 and 74 who did not have hypertension. They were closely monitored for 16 years. During the course of the study, the monitored group:

• consumed less than six units of alcohol per week;

• exercised at least three times a week;

• consumed a variety of vegetables, including green vegetables, each day; and

• had normal weight.

However, 709 men and 890 women developed hypertension. Researchers found out that the risk of developing hypertension among those having all four of the above healthy lifestyle factors is one third of the risk for those having none of the factors.

Professor Jousilahti of Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare presented the results of the study were presented to the European Cardiology Congress in August 2012.

In the United Kingdom alone, the possible risk to develop hypertension is 90%. Six million Britons recommended medication to control their condition. Hypertension accounts for around 350 preventable strokes or heart attacks each day in the United Kingdom.

Healthy lifestyle is just as good as drugs in preventing hypertension

In a review of studies into drug treatment for mild hypertension, performed by the charity Blood Pressure Association UK, found:

• no benefit in taking medication to control mild hypertension; and

• making lifestyle changes not only lowers high blood pressure naturally, but could be more effective than taking medication in such cases.

Healthy lifestyle lowers the risk of hypertension

Though, the participants in the Finnish study were healthy at the beginning of the study as the findings had proven that making lifestyle improvements naturally improves the condition of those suffering from hypertension.