But you don’t have to go to extremes to help blood pressure, he said. “You may be 40 or 50 pounds overweight, but if you lose 10 or 15, not only are you headed it in the right direction, often you begin to see some benefit.”
There isn’t a quick fix for high blood pressure, Nesbitt said. But you don’t have to fix everything at once.
“I always talk to patients about the changes that you can make that you will commit to,” she said. Someone having four alcoholic beverages a day might cut back to one or two for a sustained period. Once they develop that habit, they can attack the next.
“It is important that we keep focus on that we’re not doing this for vanity’s sake,” she said. “We’re doing this for your healthy lifestyle and longevity. This is for the long run.”
American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. If you have questions or comments about this story, please email [email protected].
By Michael Merschel
