You should also work seriously at losing weight, if you are overweight. Exercise is another beneficial step in managing your hypertension. It will help you lose weight, and together with a healthy diet, will help decrease your need for drug therapy. Speak with your physician about beginning a regular exercise program, and be careful not to start out by overdoing it, especially if you have not exercised for a while. Aging does not reduce the need to treat high blood pressure.
Recent studies suggest that treating older adults with high blood pressure can be beneficial.
On the other hand, overly aggressive treatment of high blood pressure can also cause problems, for example, by lowering the blood pressure too much and decreasing blood flow to the brain. This could cause an otherwise healthy person to have trouble with maintaining balance and staying alert. Thus, there is definite reason for some amount of caution as you begin to take medications for your hypertension. If you have been on medication for a number of years and your blood pressure remains normal, it may actually be possible to reduce medication use. In fact, sometimes medications can be stopped completely.