Elevated blood pressure causes damage to blood vessel walls and their lining, eventually impacting their integrity. In an effort to repair tiny tears and areas of weakness, the body sends cells to ‘plaster over’ the damage. Over time, cholesterol sticks to these areas and plaques form, narrowing the blood vessel and impacting blood flow.

Measuring your blood pressure

Keep an eye on your blood pressure by measuring at home using an automatic blood pressure cuff. A normal blood pressure reading is 120/80.

There are a few things to bear in mind when taking your blood pressure at home:

• Make sure you are relaxed and its been an hour or so since you’ve had any coffee, tea, alcohol or exercise 
• Ensure your feet are on the floor, and your legs are not crossed
• Use cushions to get your arm to heart-height – if your arm is too low, this can artificially inflate measurements
• Take 2-3 readings and get the average
• This is a good reference chart to remind you of correct technique

Sleep assessment

Sleep apnoea can cause high blood pressure. This is a breathing disorder which means you get reduced oxygen levels during the night, which is very stressful for the body. Sleep apnoea can be caused by structural features, or due to other factors affecting the brain’s signals to breathe.  For example, decreasing progesterone levels in perimenopause increases the risk of sleep apnea.

Common symptoms to look out for are:

• snoring
• daytime sleepiness
• morning headaches
• waking suddenly gasping for breath
• waking frequently during the night to urinate
• feeling unrefreshed on waking. 

Air Pollution 

Prolonged exposure to air pollution can also contribute to elevated blood pressure. Assess your exposure including time spent in traffic, and avoid physical activity near major roads (for example, cycling to work in heavy traffic).

Stress management 

Managing your response to stress is important. Stress causes many physiological changes, including raising blood pressure. Although it’s almost impossible to completely eliminate stress, we can take steps to improve our response to stressors, to minimise the amount of time the blood pressure is elevated.

Exercise

Both aerobic exercise (cardio) and resistance exercise (weights) are hugely beneficial in managing blood pressure and another reason to find a way to incorporate physical activity into your daily life.

Sodium 

Processed foods are the most common source of sodium in the modern diet. This doesn’t just mean pizza or hot chips – a single sandwich wrap has almost 400mg of sodium! That’s 1/5 of the maximum daily intake recommended by the NZ Heart Foundation. Breakfast cereals, bread, sweet biscuits, deli meats, ready meals including canned soups, and condiments – check the labels on packaged food and be aware of the hidden sources of sodium.

Dietary strategies for blood pressure

A minimally processed whole foods diet is recommended for maintaining blood pressure in a healthy range. Both calcium and magnesium are essential for contraction and relaxation of the heart, and calcium deficiency can contribute to elevated blood pressure. Potassium helps to regulate blood pressure. Some examples of food sources of these minerals are listed below:

• Sources of Calcium
  • Sardines mashed with bones
  • Almonds
  • Tahini sesame seeds
  • Green leafy veg – spinach, kale, bok choy, broccoli 
  • Dried figs
  • Oranges
• Sources of Magnesium
  • Eggs
  • Cooca
  • Leafy greens
  • Legumes
  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Buckwheat 
• Sources of Potassium
  • all vegetables
  • Avocado
  • Legumes
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Banana
  • Apricot
  • Potatoes