Finding fast ways to lower your blood pressure is a common concern for those who have been diagnosed with hypertension. High blood pressure, if not dealt with properly, can lead to serious medical conditions, such as hardening of the arteries, heart failure and aneurysms.

Fast Ways to Lower Blood Pressure

• Ditch the salt in your diet. This doesn’t simply mean throwing away your salt shakers. It means looking at the nutritional data listed on any prepared foods that you purchase. You want to buy low or no sodium products as much as possible. This also means no fast food.
• Eat more foods that contain potassium, as potassium can help reduce salt’s impact on blood pressure. Foods that are high in potassium and low in sodium include figs, bran wheat, baked potatoes with their skins, bananas and wheat germ. It’s better to eat your potassium as part of your diet than to take supplements.
• If you drink, cut back on your alcohol consumption.
• If you smoke, stop. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. In addition, avoid secondhand smoke. Smoking in and of itself can raise your blood pressure, let alone lead to other serious health complications over time.
• If you don’t eat foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, start rotating the foods into your diet. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, walnuts, cooked soybeans and baked or broiled halibut.
• Stress can contribute to high blood pressure. One of the ways to alleviate stress is to exercise on a regular basis, a program that you should start right away. Regular exercise can help reduce stress levels relatively quickly and have a positive impact on your weight and cardiovascular health over time.
• In addition to exercising, indulge in a hot foot bath to sooth your tootsies and your mind. Try slow breathing exercises or learn how to meditate.
• Take garlic pills as a supplement for your high blood pressure or slurp two tablespoons daily of a 50/50 mix of onion juice and honey. Use cayenne pepper as a spice on your foods or add one teaspoon of the pepper to a half of a cup of just-under-warm water and drink.

Follow your doctor’s instructions on how to deal with your high blood pressure, even if your physician prescribes medication. Remember that reducing your blood pressure is a key to your long term health.