High Blood Pressure: How Can It Be Treated?

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a condition that commonly ails elderly individuals. The good news is that there are many ways in which your senior can combat this issue if it occurs. From lifestyle changes to medications, your elderly loved one can try a variety of treatment options that will assist in restoring blood pressure levels to within a healthy range.

Lifestyle Changes: Improving Blood Pressure without the Use of Pharmaceuticals

The first course of action your senior's doctor will probably want to take is to see if your loved one can lower their blood pressure naturally. There are several ways in which they can attempt to do this, including:

• Improving dietary intake: Limiting the consumption of sodium can help in lowering blood pressure levels. Additionally, maintaining a well-rounded diet is the best way to keep the systems of the body working optimally. As such, a nutritious meal plan can assist in promoting overall health, in addition to lowering blood pressure.
• Engaging in physical activity: Exercise is an important aspect of any healthy lifestyle. In fact, incorporating exercise into their daily schedule is a great way for seniors to maintain healthy blood pressure and other levels. Working out is also a wonderful way to maintain a healthy weight, which is another way in which elderly individuals can improve their blood pressure levels.
• Kicking the habit: Smoking is linked to high blood pressure, which is why quitting smoking is a great way for seniors to improve their health and blood pressure levels.

Medications: When Lifestyle Changes Are Not Enough

For some seniors, making the previously listed changes in their lifestyle is enough to get high blood pressure levels in check; for others, the assistance of a medication is necessary to achieve healthy blood pressure. The market offers several different medications to be used for this purpose, and your senior's doctor will prescribe one based on their personal medical history.

Treating high blood pressure is a relatively common objective for seniors; however, this does not mean that it is not a serious issue. High blood pressure can lead to numerous medical complications, so it is crucial that you help your elderly loved one in achieving healthy levels.