In the past few years, widely accepted cardiovascular guidelines have lowered the threshold for high blood pressure (hypertension) from 140/90 to 130/80. As a result, many people with hypertension in Dubai may suddenly be considered at risk, even if they appeared to be healthy before.
Dr. Barbara Karin Vela highlights the significance of comprehending the rationale behind these recommendations and how raising awareness of blood pressure levels may save lives.
“These guidelines are designed to change the focus from treating heart disease to preventing heart disease in the first place,” explains Dr. Barbara Karin Vela. “Because we know hypertension is an underlying cause of heart disease and stroke, we may begin by teaching individuals about the consequences of untreated hypertension, including how it affects the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyesight. It is crucial to make healthy lifestyle choices to avoid a future diagnosis.”
You Have High Blood Pressure, Now What?
Blood pressure is the pressure that your blood exerts on the walls of your arteries as it passes through them. High blood pressure and your health are closely connected; when pressure builds up too high, the heart works harder, weakening its muscles over time. As you age, your risk of having hypertension rises.
Other causes of hypertension include smoking, stress, obesity, sleep apnea, a lack of physical activity, and excessive salt consumption. The good news is that treating the underlying reasons and/or taking medicine as directed will help control the condition effectively.
“If you have high blood pressure after a couple of readings, the first step is lifestyle modification,” explains Dr. Barbara Karin Vela, an experienced high BP doctor Dubai. However, based on your blood pressure measurements and estimated risk of heart disease, your doctor could wish to start you on medication. Often, many drugs are necessary to manage the blood pressure, and this forms a core part of hypertension treatment in Dubai.”
These recommendations emphasize the need for healthy lifestyle changes to improve blood pressure. To observe a difference in your blood pressure, Dr. Barbara Karin Vela advises concentrating on these aspects of your life:
- Healthy diet: Follow the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, which consists of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products with low saturated and total fat levels.
- Weight loss: Focus on losing extra weight and body fat. Aiming for your optimum body weight is a fine goal to achieve, but decreasing a very small amount of weight (5-10 pounds or approximately 2–4.5 kg) may make a difference in the blood pressure levels of most overweight persons.
- Salt: To lower your dietary salt consumption, be mindful of what you consume. The ideal amount is less than 1,500 mg daily, but try to cut down by at least 1,000 mg.
- Potassium: Foods including bananas, white beans, coconut water, sweet potatoes, spinach, and avocados contain potassium. Increasing your dietary potassium can assist in relaxing your blood vessels, leading to your blood pressure falling. A daily intake of 3,500–5,000 mg is generally recommended.
- Exercise: Consider mixing strength or resistance training with aerobic activities (such as walking, swimming, or jogging). The fundamental advice is 90 to 150 minutes a week of aerobic exercise to boost your heart rate and exercise your cardiovascular system. It is also suggested to do 90 to 150 minutes of resistance exercise per week to improve strength and muscle.
- Alcohol: Reduce usage of alcoholic beverages. Men should limit their daily intake to two drinks, while women should limit their intake to one. You may even consider experimenting with a sober lifestyle.
- Sleep apnea: If you snore, don’t feel fresh after a night’s sleep, or feel weary during the day, you might have undiagnosed sleep apnea. If left untreated, sleep apnea can raise blood pressure, straining the cardiovascular system and raising the risk of heart disease.
Changing this may seem like a big deal, particularly if you have a high blood pressure risk. Dr. Barbara Karin Vela can help create a practical strategy to get started, but it is up to you to follow through with these adjustments.
Dr. Barbara Karin Vela also recommended that you monitor your blood pressure levels at home and compare the results with expert-recorded readings. Patients may book hypertension consultation in Dubai with Dr. Barbara Karin Vela for an accurate diagnosis and individualized care.
“It is common for people to experience white coat hypertension (when your blood pressure spikes during a medical visit) or masked hypertension (when blood pressure is normal at the doctor’s, but high at home),” according to Dr. Barbara Karin Vela. “Checking these two readings off each other is imperative that the correct data is utilized to make accurate decisions based on your health.”
Going forward, pay attention to your blood pressure readings and use every chance you can to modify your everyday behaviors so you may live a longer, healthier life.