Secondly, a decision about treatment is critically dependent upon whether or not you have other cardiovascular risk factors. Other risk factors include smoking, older age, obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, African-American ancestry and a history of cardiovascular disease complications. The more risk factors you have, the more compelling the need to treat aggressively. Actual weight loss if you are obese, aerobic exercise if you are sedentary, and a reduction of alcohol to less than 2 ounces per day will all help. There is some data that people with diets high in calcium or potassium and high in fish oils will have lower blood pressure, and these may soon become standard recommendations.
Stress reduction can be helpful in some patients.
Neither habitual caffeine use nor smoking elevates blood pressure per se. Finally, I would encourage you to reduce or eliminate other cardiovascular risk factors. Whether or not you develop blood pressure high enough to warrant treatment with medications, it's good for you to eat better, lose weight and exercise. Return to Content 1998-2001 Inglewood Care Centre. All rights reserved.