Category: Blood Pressure

The foods and drink that lower blood pressure and prevent heart disease.

Eating berries, nuts, cocoa products, apples, and drinking tea have been found to improve blood circulation and vascular health.

These foods and drink are rich in flavanols, a type of polyphenol that has powerful antioxidant effects.

A diet high in flavanols is an effective way to reduce blood pressure and prevent cardio-vascular diseases.

A UK study of more than 25,000 people examined the link between flavanols as bioactive compounds and human health.

They found that people with high blood pressure have lower flavanol levels than those with normal blood pressure.

Between the lowest and highest levels of flavanol intake there was a 4 mmHg difference in blood pressure.

This means a diet rich in flavanols has the same effect in reducing blood pressure as a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet or a Mediterranean diet.

Professor Gunter Kuhnle, the study’s senior author, said:

“What this study gives us is an objective finding about the association between flavanols — found in tea and some fruits — and blood pressure.

This research confirms the results from previous dietary intervention studies and shows that the same results can be achieved with a habitual diet rich in flavanols.

In the British diet, the main sources are tea, cocoa, apples and berries.”

The beneficial effect of flavanols on vascular function was even higher for those with the highest blood pressure.

These findings suggest that the incidence of cardiovascular disease will reduce if people increase their intake of flavanol-rich foods and drinks.

Flavanols are a class of flavonoids able to reduce blood pressure and arterial stiffness, which decreases heart disease risk.

A study by Johnson et al., found that participants who ate a daily intake of one cup of blueberries after 8 weeks had a 7 mm/Hg reduction in their systolic blood pressure and 5 mm/Hg reduction in their diastolic blood pressure.

The effect of lowering blood pressure and arterial stiffness may be due to a rise in nitric oxide production in the blood vessels.

These antioxidants have an anti-inflammatory effect as well as increasing the production of nitric oxide in the body.

Dr Hagen Schroeter, study co-author, said:

“This study adds key insights to a growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of dietary flavanols in health and nutrition.

But, perhaps even more exciting was the opportunity to apply objective biomarkers of flavanol intake at a large scale.

This enabled the team to avoid the significant limitations that come with past approaches which rely on estimating intake based on self-reported food consumption data and the shortcomings of current food composition databases.”

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Ottaviani et al., 2020).

A single pill containing four medicines is highly effective for treating blood pressure.

Nearly half of the adult population of the United States and one-third of the world-wide population has high high blood pressure.

Hypertension is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke yet the strategies to control the condition remain poor.

A study offers a solution for treating high blood pressure by giving patients a pill containing a quarter dose of four common medicines.

The quadpill which contains irbesartan, amlodipine, indapamide and bisoprolol has been shown to be more successful in treating hypertension than the routine practice of relying on a single drug.

The results come from an Australian clinical trial which shows that within three months 81 percent of participants on the quadpill had their blood pressure under control while this was 62 percent for the control group who were receiving the best care but were taking a single drug.

Normally, doctors put patients on one medication, but if the drug is not found effective they will add or change the drug, however, the approach remains unsuccessful in most cases.

Professor Clara Chow, the study’s first author, hinted that hypertension control rates are poor:

“Statistics on the global burden of high blood pressure this week show that there’s been a doubling in the past 30 years of hypertension cases—the leading cause of the world’s top killer: heart attack and stroke.”

Dr. Emily Atkins, study co-author, said:

“In settings with high levels of specialist care and full access to a range of existing blood pressure medicines—like the centers in this trial—the improved reduction in blood pressure with this strategy would be expected to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by about 20 percent.

In settings with little or no existing hypertension treatment, the benefits would be much greater.”

The study was published in The Lancet  (Chow et al., 2021).

An indoor activity found to diminish high blood pressure more effectively than walking.

Physicians have typically prescribed walking as part of the treatment plan for their patients with high blood pressure (hypertension).

However, according to a recent study, stretching is more effective than brisk walking for people with hypertension or those at increased risk of developing it.

Hypertension, despite being a major risk factor for heart disease, can easily be controlled if patients follow some lifestyle changes.

One of these changes is doing 30-minute stretching exercises for five days a week.

Dr Phil Chilibeck, study’s co-author, said:

“Everyone thinks that stretching is just about stretching your muscles.

But when you stretch your muscles, you’re also stretching all the blood vessels that feed into the muscle, including all the arteries.

If you reduce the stiffness in your arteries, there’s less resistance to blood flow.”

The finding that stretching can lower hypertension has been supported by earlier research, but this is the first time that stretching has been compared with fast walking.

For this study, 40 adults with high blood pressure were randomly divided into two groups to do either stretching exercises or walking for 8 weeks.

One group did 30-minute full-body stretches five days a week and the second group did walking for 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

The participants’ blood pressure was monitored over a full day wearing a blood pressure cuff device.

The results showed that stretching led to a greater reduction of blood pressure than walking.

However, during those eight weeks, the walkers lost more belly fat than the stretching group.

Thus the authors advise people to do stretching exercises along with routine walks.

Dr Chilibeck said:

“I don’t want people to come away from our research thinking they shouldn’t be doing some form of aerobic activity.

Things like walking, biking, or cross-country skiing all have a positive effect on body fat, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar.”

Dr Chilibeck assumes yoga or a shorter stretching session than 30 minutes, if focused on the leg muscles, especially the hamstrings and quadriceps, would produce a similar effect on lowering blood pressure as found in the present study.

Dr Chilibeck said:

“The beauty of stretching is that it’s so easy to incorporate into a person’s daily routine.

You’re not at the mercy of the weather and it’s easy on your joints—a big plus for people with osteoarthritis.

And it doesn’t require a big commitment of time, another barrier to exercise for many people.

When you’re relaxing in the evening, instead of just sitting on the couch, you can get down on the floor and stretch while you’re watching TV.”

The study was published in the  Journal of Physical Activity and Health (Ko et al., 2020).

High blood pressure — known to doctors as hypertension — is a risk factor for heart disease.

Single women who take part in regular social activities have lower blood pressure, research finds.

However, social isolation and loneliness increase the risk of high blood pressure in women.

High blood pressure — known to doctors as hypertension — is a risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death among women.

The study found that widowed, socially inactive women living on their own were at the highest risk of hypertension.

Dr Annalijn Conklin, study co-author, said:

“Among older adults, social isolation is the largest known risk factor for mortality, equal only to smoking.

Less well known is how social isolation affects men and women differently, or how it affects biomarkers of longevity.

Our research indicates that women, in particular, are more likely to be hypertensive when they experience isolation in middle and older age.”

The study included data from almost 30,000 people aged 45 to 85 in Canada.

The results showed that women without a partner who had fewer than three social activities per month were at the highest risk of hypertension.

Dr Conklin said:

“Among women, the increase in blood pressure that was associated with the lack of social ties was similar to that seen with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory use, increased sodium diets pollution or weight gain.

This represents a significant women-specific risk factor for heart disease or stroke.”

Among men, the results were quite different.

Those who had a large social network and shared their home with others had higher blood pressure.

Men who lived alone and had fewer social ties had lower blood pressure.

Dr Conklin said:

“Taken with our previous research, our new findings underline how social isolation affects health in men and women differently.

At a time when COVID-19 is forcing us to limit our social interactions, it’s important for those working in health care and public health to encourage older women, in particular, to find new ways to be socially active.”

The study was published in the Journal of Hypertension (Zeinab et al., 2020).

The exercise that can reduce your blood pressure by 10 percent.

The most effective type of exercise for lowering blood pressure is a combination of endurance exercise, like running, with lifting weights, research finds.

When it comes to lowering high blood pressure, exercise is as useful as drugs.

There is good evidence that systolic blood pressure — which is the highest number of any blood pressure reading — can be lowered by exercise.

The higher systolic blood pressure, the greater the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

We can easily lower high blood pressure by combining endurance training like running, swimming, cycling, jogging or even walking with strength training such as using kettlebells, doing push-ups and working out with dumbbells.

Researchers compared 194 medication trials with 197 exercise intervention trials to see the impact of drugs or exercise on lowering systolic blood pressure.

After analysing these trials, they found that exercise lowered blood pressure as much as most drugs.

They also noticed that people with higher blood pressure were benefiting more from exercise.

Replacing exercise with drugs is challenging, but blood pressure can decrease up to 10% by doing regular physical activities such as fast walking.

Start with doing 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity including gardening, dancing, walking briskly, mowing the lawn, playing tennis (doubles) throughout the week.

Symptoms of high blood pressure include a pounding in the chest, blood in the urine, and severe headaches.

More than 40% of adults in the US and many European countries are physically inactive.

About 30% of American adults suffer from high blood pressure.

Dr Huseyin Naci the lead author of the study, said:

“It’s one thing to recommend that physicians start prescribing exercise to their patients, but we also need to be cognisant of the resource implications and ensure that the patients that have been referred to exercise interventions can adhere to them and so really derive benefit.”

The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Naci et al., 2018).

About half of American adults are affected by hypertension and it is a major factor in 82,000 deaths each year.

People who do long hours at work are most likely to have masked hypertension, which is a hidden type of high blood pressure.

Masked hypertension usually goes undetected by doctors as a patient’s blood pressure reading is normal at medical visits but high at home or outside a clinic.

Working 49 hours or more per week at the office increases the risk of high blood pressure by 70 percent, experts say.

About half of American adults are affected by hypertension and it is a major factor in 82,000 deaths each year.

A study on 3,547 Canadian office workers shows that those who worked 49 hours a week were 70 percent more likely to have masked hypertension and 66 percent more likely to have persistent high blood pressure in comparison to their colleagues who worked less than 35 hours per week.

Among those who worked 41 to 48 hours a week, their chance of having masked hypertension was 54 percent higher and they were 42 percent more likely to have persistent high blood pressure.

Dr Xavier Trudel, the study’s first author, said:

“Both masked and sustained high blood pressure are linked to higher cardiovascular disease risk.

The observed associations accounted for job strain, a work stressor defined as a combination of high work demands and low decision-making authority.

However, other related stressors might have an impact.

Future research could examine whether family responsibilities — such as a worker’s number of children, household duties and childcare role — might interact with work circumstances to explain high blood pressure.”

The study was carried out over five years and 19 percent of these employees were already on high blood pressure pills.

Around 13 percent of employees had masked hypertension but were not taking any high blood pressure medication.

The impact of long working hours on blood pressure was the same for both women and men who participated in the study.

Dr Trudel said:

“People should be aware that long work hours might affect their heart health, and if they’re working long hours, they should ask their doctors about checking their blood pressure over time with a wearable monitor.

Masked hypertension can affect someone for a long period of time and is associated, in the long term, with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

We have previously shown that over five years, about 1 out of 5 people with masked hypertension never showed high blood pressure in a clinical setting, potentially delaying diagnosis and treatment.”

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Trudel et al., 2019).

The optimal daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids to lower blood pressure.

Consuming 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day as a dietary supplement or from foods has been found to be the optimal level to reduce high blood pressure.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are types of omega-3 fat mainly found in oily fish such as trout, salmon, herring, mackerel, and sardines.

Also, some fish oil supplements including cod liver oil contain good levels of EPA and DHA.

Much research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil may help lower blood pressure.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating fish — particularly fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines — at least twice a week.

Other omega-3-rich foods to include in your diet are:

• flaxseed,
• walnuts,
• canola oil,
• and soybeans.

How much omega-3?

Several studies have suggested that daily consumption of omega-3 fatty acids could lower hypertension but the amount that a person should take to see the effect is unknown.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a daily intake of 1.1 to 1.6 grams of omega-3 fatty acids will be adequate for a healthy adult.

This study found that the optimal dosage of omega-3 fatty acids to lower blood pressure is about 3 grams a day.

Dr Xinzhi Li, the study’s co-author, said:

“According to our research, the average adult may have a modest blood pressure reduction from consuming about 3 grams a day of these fatty acids.”

The findings are from an analysis of 71 clinical trials that looked at the effect of DHA and EPA on blood pressure and cholesterol levels in adults between 1987 and 2020.

Here is a summary of their findings:

• A daily intake of 2 to 3 grams EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids from foods or supplements or both led to a reduction of 2 mm Hg in systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
• Doses of omega‐3 fatty acid intake above 3 grams a day may provide even more blood pressure and cholesterol lowering benefits for those at greater risk of heart disease.
• Participants with hypertension who consumed at least 3 grams a day of omega-3 fatty acids saw a reduction of 4.5 mm Hg in their systolic blood pressure.
• Higher dosages than 3 grams a day of omega-3 fatty acids didn’t show further benefits for those with normal blood pressure.

A 5 ounce (140g) serving of Atlantic salmon or 3 ounces (90g) of mackerel will provide 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids.

Dr Li said:

“Most of the studies reported on fish oil supplements rather than on EPA and DHA omega-3’s consumed in food, which suggests supplements may be an alternative for those who cannot eat fatty fish such as salmon regularly.

Algae supplements with EPA and DHA fatty acids are also an option for people who do not consume fish or other animal products.”

Dr Li addd:

“Our study supports the FDA guidance that EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by lowering high blood pressure, especially among people already diagnosed with hypertension.”

Caution

Note that more research is needed to understand the full effects of omega-3 on blood pressure, and supplementation is not a substitute for other blood pressure-lowering treatments prescribed by your doctor.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (Zhang et al., 2022).

The snack contains a type of omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid, which is heart healthy.

Eating whole walnuts can help to lower blood pressure, research finds.

Walnuts contain a type of omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid, which is heart healthy.

People in the study swapped out 5 percent of their saturated fat intake for walnuts to achieve the benefit.

After eating the walnuts for six weeks, their blood pressure was lower.

Reducing saturated fat intake helps, but there is something special about walnuts, explained Professor Penny Kris-Etherton, study co-author:

“When participants ate whole walnuts, they saw greater benefits than when they consumed a diet with a similar fatty acid profile as walnuts without eating the nut itself.

So it seems like there’s a little something extra in walnuts that are beneficial — maybe their bioactive compounds, maybe the fiber, maybe something else — that you don’t get in the fatty acids alone.”

The study included 45 overweight or obese people.

They were split into three groups and for six weeks each was fed a slightly different diet to test the effects of walnuts.

Dr Alyssa Tindall, the study’s first author, explained:

“Walnuts contain alpha-linolenic acid — ALA — a plant-based omega-3 that may positively affect blood pressure.

We wanted to see if ALA was the major contributor to these heart-healthy benefits, or if it was other bioactive component of walnuts, like polyphenols.

We designed the study to test if these components had additive benefits.”

The results of the study showed that reducing saturated fats helped reduce blood pressure.

However, walnuts produced the greatest drop in blood pressure.

Dr Tindall said:

“An average American diet has about 12 percent calories from saturated fat, and all our treatment diets all had about seven percent, using walnuts or vegetable oils as a replacement.

So, seeing the positive benefits from all three diets sends a message that regardless of whether you replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats from walnuts or vegetable oils, you should see cardiovascular benefits.”

Professor Kris-Etherton has this advice:

“Instead of reaching for fatty red meat or full-fat dairy products for a snack, consider having some skim milk and walnuts.

I think it boils down to how we can get the most out of the food we’re eating, specifically, ‘how to get a little more bang out of your food buck.’

In that respect, walnuts are a good substitute for saturated fat.”

The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (Tindall et al., 2019).