Have you been diagnosed with high blood pressure? If so, you aren’t alone! Almost 103 million Americans have high blood pressure.

It isn’t just a condition affecting older adults, either. Almost half of all Americans age 20 and older have elevated blood pressure.

That’s why our team at AFC Urgent Care Louisville wants to take a few minutes to fill you in on the basics! Read on as we offer some insight.

What Is Blood Pressure?

Before you can really have a good understanding of high blood pressure, you need to understand blood pressure. It’s just what it sounds like—blood pressure is the pressure with which blood pushes against the artery walls as it moves through the body.

When your blood pressure is high, a condition also called hypertension, it means your blood is hitting those artery walls very forcefully. Over time, this can cause damage to the arteries and increase your risk of many health conditions, including heart disease.

Risk Factors for High Blood Pressure

• A sedentary lifestyle
• Excess weight
• A diet with too light potassium and/or too much sodium
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• A family history of high blood pressure
• Smoking
• Uncontrolled stress

How Can I Lower My Blood Pressure?

We just talked through the risk factors for high blood pressure. The first step in maintaining a normal blood pressure is analyzing which risk factors you have.

From there, take steps to mitigate those risk factors and improve your overall health. While you can’t control your family medical history, practicing healthy lifestyle habits can help you eliminate the other risk factors we identified.

How to Lower Blood Pressure

• Exercise regularly.
• Limit your alcohol consumption.
• Don’t smoke.
• Eat a diet low in sodium and high in potassium.
• Find healthy ways to manage stress.
• Work with a doctor to effectively manage chronic health conditions.

You should have your blood pressure checked at least once each year as part of an annual checkup. Stop by AFC Urgent Care Louisville today for a wellness check!