| If you've been diagnosed with diastolic high blood | | | | This is a condition that obviously can't be ignored. |
| pressure then you already know that you're | | | | If you're on medication be certain to take it as |
| diastolic blood pressure reading is greater than the | | | | prescribed. If you suffer from side effects be |
| normal 80 mm. If it is above 80mm but no | | | | sure to tell your doctor so he can adjust the |
| greater than 100 mm you are pre-hypertensive | | | | dosage or try another drug. |
| and odds are your doctor advised you to make | | | | But is there anything else you can do? |
| changes in your lifestyle to control or reduce the | | | | Of course there is. The reasons you have high |
| pressure. If your pressure was in excess of 100 | | | | blood pressure in the first place, bad diet, obesity, |
| mm then you are hypertensive and probably on | | | | lack of exercise or bad stress management, can |
| blood pressure medication. | | | | be the very solutions to your condition. |
| But do you really understand what diastolic | | | | Positive changes in lifestyle can have very |
| pressure is and why it can be an predictor of | | | | significant and fast impact on your BP reading. In |
| some very serious heart issues? | | | | fact the American Heart Association endorses life |
| Diastolic pressure is that amount of force that | | | | style changes over medication. |
| the blood places on the walls of the blood | | | | The first thing you want to do is address the |
| pressure when the heart is at rest. How can the | | | | heart muscle and how to strengthen it. You can |
| blood be placing much of any force when the | | | | do this in two ways. Exercise it to get better |
| heart is not pumping you ask? The answer has | | | | tone, just like any other muscle, and feed it the |
| much to do with the volume of blood within the | | | | nutrients that it needs. A starving muscle is not a |
| vessels. | | | | healthy muscle. |
| When the heart beats it pumps the blood that is | | | | Check with your doctor first but thirty minutes a |
| in the chamber into the blood vessels increasing | | | | day of mild aerobic exercise like walking or biking |
| the total volume of blood. This increased volume | | | | can have an immediate impact on both your |
| puts more pressure on the vessel walls and that's | | | | systolic and diastolic pressure. |
| why systolic pressure is normally greater than | | | | Getting away from processed foods and avoiding |
| diastolic pressure. | | | | salt are two good starts in feeding your heart. |
| But what happens if the heart muscle is simply | | | | Get the vitamins and minerals that the heart |
| not strong enough to pump all the blood out of | | | | needs by eating fresh or quick frozen fruits and |
| the chamber? After the heart beats the valve | | | | vegetables. Stay away from red meat and |
| opens to allow new blood into the chamber but | | | | substitute lean white meat, cold water fish and |
| the chamber is already partially full and cannot | | | | poultry. |
| take the normal amount. This means that the | | | | There's a way to quickly get this diastolic |
| volume in the blood vessels is not reduced as it | | | | pressure issue under control if you are willing to |
| normally would be causing greater pressure on | | | | commit to some changes. Given the risk, how |
| the walls | | | | hard can it be to make a decision to take charge |
| High diastolic pressure then could be a precursor | | | | of your health. |
| to congestive heart failure or a heart attack. | | | | |