Understanding the Silent Killer: A Revolutionary Guide to Hypertension

Hypertension is a medical term that means “above normal pressure within a vessel” or high blood pressure. A 2023 report by the American Heart Association found that more than 1.22 million or 46.7% of Americans 20 years and up have hypertension¹. With almost half of the American population suffering from this condition, it is vital that we begin to educate ourselves and understand the silent killer that is hypertension.

What Is Hypertension?

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is when your heart is pumping harder to push blood throughout your body. The excess pressure in the blood vessels causes the arteries to bulk up. Over time the thickened arteries can become blocked or ruptured. A blocked artery results in a heart attack or stroke. A ruptured artery causes life-threatening internal bleeding.

How Do You Measure Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure is measured with two numbers. The first number is your systolic blood pressure. This number reflects the pressure your blood exerts against the walls of your arteries when the heart beats. The second number is your diastolic blood pressure. This number reflects the pressure your blood exerts against the walls of your arteries when your heart rests between beats.

What Causes Hypertension?

High blood pressure is a result of the complex interaction between your lifestyle, genetics, and various other factors. More research is needed to fully understand the biological factors that result in hypertension. However, science has proven that certain established risk factors contribute to its development. Factors such as obesity, diabetes, sedentary behavior, poor dietary habits, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption can damage the heart and blood vessels resulting in hypertension. Understanding and addressing these risk factors plays a crucial role in managing and preventing high blood pressure.

How Do You Beat Hypertension?

If you are currently suffering from hypertension, don’t lose hope. Hypertension is a silent killer, but you can beat it! It will take conscious effort, life changes, and work, but you do not have to live with hypertension forever.

• Lifestyle Changes
  It’s time to get active! People who aren’t active are at a much greater risk of developing medical conditions. A healthy lifestyle should include at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity workouts. This can include anything from a fast-paced walk, jogging, bicycling, swimming, or whatever activity you enjoy. You should also include at least 2 workouts per week that include strength training activities such as lifting weights, resistance band workouts, or bodyweight workouts.
  
  
• Reduce Stress
  Stress greatly affects the body in a negative way. When the body is under stress, blood pressure is elevated. It is important to get stress under control. Physical activity naturally reduces stress, making your 2.5 (or more) hours of weekly activity that much more important and beneficial. Other ways to lower stress include yoga, meditation, gardening, breathing exercises, prayer, and journaling. If you have pets, specifically dogs, multiple studies have found that petting dogs lowers the stress hormone, cortisol. So spend some quality time with your pups. They’ll enjoy it and so will your blood pressure.
  
  
• Weight Loss
  Attributable risk estimates from the Framingham Offspring Study, suggest that obesity may be responsible for approximately 78% of hypertension in men and 65% of hypertension in women³. There is a direct, indisputable relationship between weight and blood pressure. If you are currently overweight or obese, it’s time to get serious about cleaning up your diet (focus on eating primarily whole foods), increasing physical activity, gaining muscle, and losing fat.
  
  
• Reduce Inflammation
  Inflammation in the body causes many issues including joint pains, insomnia, mood disorders, and hypertension. In the past 15 years, more research has been conducted on the relationship between high blood pressure and inflammation. A 2021 study found that inflammation causes damage in the lining of the blood vessels leading to stiff, brittle arteries which then causes an increase in blood pressure⁴.
  
  The primary ways to reduce bodily inflammation are diet and physical activity. New research has found that both the keto and the carnivore diet⁵ are very effective at lowering inflammation and inflammatory responses in the body. Along with diet, physical activity has been shown to reduce inflammation as it strengthens the immune system which has an anti-inflammatory effect on body cells.
  
  
• Reduce/Quit Bad Habits – Smoking/Tobacco/Alcohol use
  We know, this one is not fun. Let’s start with the good news. One or two drinks per week is unlikely to raise blood pressure chronically. However, daily drinking or drinking in excess can result in the narrowing of blood vessels. When blood vessels become smaller or constricted the heart has to work harder to pump blood through the body causing high blood pressure.
  
  Unlike alcohol use, nicotine and tobacco products negatively affect the heart regardless of their frequency of use. Tobacco products increase the risk of developing atherosclerosis – plaque build up in the arteries which can lead to heart attack and stroke. Nicotine stimulates the release of hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that cause blood pressure to rise. The combination of nicotine and tobacco can result in atherosclerosis which is worsened by high blood pressure. Research has shown that just one day without nicotine or tobacco results in lower blood pressure. This means that nicotine and tobacco products need to be eliminated completely.
  
  

Understanding the Silent Killer

It is very important to get your blood pressure under control. Long periods of elevated blood pressure can lead to comorbid health conditions such as heart attack, stroke, aneurysms, and kidney failure. Eliminating your hypertension takes time and commitment, but it is possible!

Start with increasing physical activity and dietary changes. This will not only help lower blood pressure but will have a positive effect on your waistline, bodily inflammation, and stress levels which will also lower blood pressure. Afterwards, start working on reducing or eliminating the bad habits mentioned above.

Hypertension is one of the leading causes of premature death. It is vital to beat your hypertension. We are here to make sure you have all the information and support you need to ensure permanent remission from your hypertension. If you have any further questions, fill out a contact form and we will make sure to get you the information you need!

Supporting Research

1. Tsao, C. (2023, January 1). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2023 update. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2023 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001123 ↩︎
2. Berry, K. (2019). Lies my doctor told me: Medical myths that can harm your health. Victory Belt. ↩︎
3. Whelton, P. (2017, November 13). Abstracts from the 31st annual scientific … – aha journalshttps://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/hyp.0b013e3181df4279. 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/HYP.0b013e3181df4279 ↩︎
4. Patrick DM, Van Beusecum JP, Kirabo A. The role of inflammation in hypertension: novel concepts. Curr Opin Physiol. 2021 Feb;19:92-98. doi: 10.1016/j.cophys.2020.09.016. Epub 2020 Oct 13. PMID: 33073072; PMCID: PMC7552986. ↩︎
5. The Meat of The Matter: Understanding the Carnivore Diet. Human Health Co. (2024, May 9). https://humanhealthco.com/the-meat-of-the-matter-understanding-the-carnivore-diet/ ↩︎