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High Blood Pressure or
High Blood Sugar - Which Is More Important?
Did you know that controlling
your blood pressure may be more important then controlling your blood sugar? This
is because persistently high blood pressure could increase your chances of heart
attack and stroke. To make matters worse, diabetics already have a greater risk
of heart disease or stroke just because they are diabetic. So any diabetic with
high blood pressure is in the high risk bracket. Controlling your blood pressure
is one of major ways to help reduce this risk especially if you are diabetic.
What should my blood pressure be? There have been
a lot of studies and research into the ideal blood pressure for diabetics and
in truth there isn't one ideal answer. The experts, National Institute of Clinical
Excellence (NICE), recommend that BP for Type 2 diabetics should be under 140/80
mmHg, and for Type 1 diabetics should be under 135/85. Your physician may well
have a lower or different target for you and aim to follow what your physician
recommends.
What to use to measure blood pressure (BP)?
The
most convenient way to check BP would be to use an automatic "arm" blood
pressure monitor. The other type of blood pressure monitors are wrist monitors.
However, blood pressure readings from arm monitors tend to be more reliable then
wrist. We would recommend you use a BHS (British Hypertension Society) validated
blood pressure monitor. These monitors have an official stamp of approval which
meet the BHS's stringent validation requirements. Like most products be careful
of "cheap" monitors which may not be reliable and can brake down very
easily. From our own experience we have found the Omron brand to be a very reliable.
How can I lower my blood pressure? There are steps
that you can take to help reduce your blood pressure. These include *
Reduce dietary salt intake to less than 6g of salt per day (the less the better). *
Avoid too much coffee (>5 cups) * Avoid stress (this is easier said
then done but stress can play a major role in high bp)
* Try relaxation
therapies (e.g. stress management, meditation, etc.) can reduce BP * If
you smoke, stop. This will make a huge benefit to your heart disease risk *
Exercise, ideally aerobic exercise for 30-60 minutes, three to five times each
week. (Check with your doctor that you can do this) * Limit alcohol consumption
If
your blood pressure is still high after making these lifestyle changes then your
doctor may decide to prescribe you antihypertensive medicines which lower blood
pressure. It is important to monitor your blood pressure and know
what your blood pressure is. If it is persistently above the target ranges described
then get it checked by your doctor. Knowing your blood pressure allows you to
take control and take action.
We hope you have found this article useful.
In this article we have talked about dietary changes that can help your blood
pressure. In the diabetes
and food article we discuss the role of food in controlling diabetes.
Have a read of this article to learn more. To
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Learn more about diabetes by signing up. Other
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