More than one-third of Georgia adults have been told they have high blood pressure, according to America’s Health Rankings. This is important because, if not detected and controlled, it can lead to heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, vision loss, and other serious medical conditions.
The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology released a new set of guidelines to help with reducing high blood pressure. This is the first set of new guidelines since 2017.
Medicare advises people to shoot for blood pressure of 120/80.If your blood pressure is higher than 120/80 and is under 139/89, you could be at risk of hypertension. Anything above 140/90 is high.
What do the new blood pressure guidelines include?
The new guidelines go over lifestyle changes to help your cardiovascular health, including:
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Reducing alcohol intake
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Being aware of how much salt is in your food
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Beginning a heart-healthy diet
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Getting exercise
What do the guidelines say about drinking alcohol?
Ideally, consuming no alcohol is the best way to decrease blood pressure. However, men who choose to drink should have only two drinks per day and women who choose to drink should have only one drink per day to limit high blood pressure.
How much salt is recommend for someone with high blood pressure?
Consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, gradually moving towards consuming 1,500 mg or less per day. According to the guidelines, “most adults in the U.S. get their sodium from eating packaged and restaurant foods, not the salt shaker.”
What do the guidelines advise for a heart-healthy diet?
The guidelines use the DASH eating plan as an example of the type of diet those with high blood pressure should adopt. This includes low sodium amounts and lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. The guidelines also encourage eating low-fat or nonfat dairy, lean meats, poultry, fish, and non-tropical oils.
How much exercise do I need to reduce blood pressure?
Get 75-150 minutes of exercise weekly. Exercise encourages stress reduction, which can reduce blood pressure. The guideline recommends a variety of physical activities, such as aerobic exercises, resistance training and yoga.
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People with high blood pressure should try to lose at least 5% of their body weight.
What other advice do the new blood pressure guidelines give?
The guidelines suggest at-home blood pressure monitoring to keep track of progress. They also go over the criteria for having high blood pressure and hypertension, risk assessment tools and resources on how to navigate high blood pressure with other conditions.
Erin Jones is a New York Connect Reporter with USA TODAY Network who contributed to this article.
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for Gannett/USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: New blood pressure guidelines just dropped: What Georgia needs to know