

This may help the manufacturer increase the shelf life of their product to help save some money, but it comes at the cost of your health. These foods tend to have a high amount of salt as either a preservative or for taste. Foods that raise blood pressure naturally include: Processed foods The following are some common foods that raise blood pressure when consumed regularly and should be avoided, or at the very least, reduced in consumption by high blood pressure diagnosed patients.

All physicians will stress the importance of diet and exercise to their patients, as it will potentially bypass their need for prescription medication that could have unwanted side effects. If these two factors can be managed and maintained, blood pressure will start to normalize. In fact, the initial therapy for treatment is diet and exercise. Foods that raise blood pressureīeing smart about what you consume is the key to successful blood pressure management. Kidney failure: Similar to the heart, the kidneys are also sensitive to blood pressure and play a major role in blood pressure maintenance. This causes the cardiac muscles to thicken and become inefficient, leading to heart failure. Heart failure: High blood pressure requires the heart to pump harder to overcome the increased pressure. Heart attack or stroke: Hardening and thickening of the arteries ( atherosclerosis) cause poor blood perfusion to the heart or brain.Īneurysm: Occurs due to the weakening of blood vessels that eventually bulge and rupture. Excessive pressure against the vessel walls-caused by high blood pressure-can lead to several long-term and potentially fatal consequences. The longer high blood pressure is poorly controlled, the greater the damage to various tissues and organs in the body. What are the complications of high blood pressure? High blood pressure contributes to more than 1,100 deaths each day. It is estimated that about 75 million American adults currently have high blood pressure roughly one in every three Americans. High blood pressure puts you at an increased risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States. This leads to blood pressure rising and it can wreak havoc on the vascular system. Over time, however, the mechanism that pushes blood may weaken, resulting in your body having to work extra hard to push blood through the vessels. Blood needs to fight against gravity, and your body is especially adept at maintaining a level of equilibrium for normal functioning- a healthy blood pressure is a huge part of that. The role of blood pressure is to maintain adequate blood perfusion to every tissue and organ in your body.
