Diastolic pressure is the force exerted by blood on the arterial walls between one heartbeat and the next. The value considered normal and healthy is between 70 and 80 mmHg; when it reaches or exceeds the 90 mmHg limit it can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and other health problems. Diastolic blood pressure can be lowered just as systolic blood pressure is reduced: by following a healthy diet, exercising, making lifestyle changes and, in some cases, even taking medications.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Follow a Heart-Healthy Diet
Step 1. Follow a diet that includes whole and healthy foods
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, low-fat dairy products, and naturally potassium-rich foods can improve heart health and lower diastolic blood pressure. Start eating larger amounts of whole foods, cutting down on processed foods that are high in sugar and fat.
- You should regularly eat 6-8 servings of whole grains, 4 or 5 of vegetables, as many of fruit;
- You should also include 2 or 3 servings of dairy, 6 or less of lean meat / poultry / fish, and 4-5 of nuts, seeds, legumes;
- Limit your consumption of sweets to no more than five servings per week;
- Foods rich in potassium can help balance the effects of sodium; therefore consider eating foods that are particularly rich in them, especially fruits and vegetables, such as bananas, oranges, avocados, beans, green leafy vegetables, potatoes and tomatoes.
Step 2. Reduce your sodium intake
In excessive doses, it can cause water retention, putting a greater strain on the heart and arteries to pump blood around the body. Do not take more than 1500 mg per day and avoid adding the table one to your dishes, as it often contains artificial additives that are harmful to health.
- Keep in mind that a teaspoon of table salt contains on average 2300 mg of sodium; people consume on average about 3400 mg per day - more than double the recommended daily amount.
- An excess of sodium in the body causes water retention, which increases the amount of work the heart and blood vessels have to do. consequently, the diastolic pressure increases along with the systolic pressure.
- Check food labels and recipes, making sure to only consume foods that contain no more than 140 mg of sodium per serving. Reduce the amount of sodium, monosodium glutamate, sodium bicarbonate, chemical yeast, disodium phosphate, and any other compounds that have the term "sodium" or its chemical symbol "Na" in its name; instead of adding salt to dishes, rely on aromatic herbs, spices and naturally flavored ingredients to enrich foods.
Step 3. Consume less alcohol
Some studies have found that a moderate amount of alcohol can improve heart health, but if you drink more than one or two drinks a day, it raises your blood pressure causing other adverse effects. Reduce your intake and check with your doctor about the proper dose you can drink.
Remember that "one drink" is equivalent to 350ml of beer, 150ml of wine or 50ml of 40% alcohol liqueur
Step 4. Limit your caffeine intake
This substance has been associated with high levels of diastolic pressure, because it blocks the hormone that has the task of keeping the arteries dilated; reduce the amount and replace coffee, energy drinks and sodas with white, green and black tea when you feel the need for an energy boost.
- Technically, caffeine doesn't always have a major effect on blood pressure; if you don't drink it often, it can cause a sudden spike in your total blood pressure, but if you consume it regularly over a long period of time, your body's reaction is less intense. Measure your blood pressure within half an hour of taking a caffeinated drink; if both values (diastolic and systolic) rise by 5-10 mmHg, know that this is a considerable increase and you should limit its consumption.
- If you decide to reduce your caffeine intake, work gradually over several days, eliminating about 200 mg per day, which is approximately two 350 ml cups of American coffee.
Step 5. Avoid red meats
Their regular consumption increases the diastolic pressure and consequently the risk of developing some heart disease. Stop eating red meats, such as beef and beef steaks, instead opting for healthier protein sources, such as chicken, turkey, and fish.
Step 6. Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids
Foods that are rich in it can improve heart health and are effective for lowering blood pressure, as well as reducing the risk of heart disease. Among the foods that are particularly rich in it are mentioned: walnuts, salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines and trout.
- The ideal would be to eat 2 or 3 servings of healthy fats every day. While omega-3s are a great choice, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats can also help with your problem; these include many oils of vegetable origin, such as those of olive, canola, peanut, safflower and sesame.
- However, avoid foods that contain saturated and trans fats, as they have a negative effect on blood pressure; these include fried foods and heavily processed foods.
Part 2 of 3: Improving Your Lifestyle
Step 1. Exercise for at least half an hour most days of the week
Exercise helps strengthen the heart muscle, improves blood circulation, allowing the heart to pump more easily and with less effort; find a physical activity you enjoy and incorporate it into your daily routine. Start with walking, running, cycling, dancing or swimming; eventually, work with your doctor to find an ideal workout routine for your situation.
Keep in mind that the type of activity affects the duration of the training sessions; in general, you should do 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week or two and a half hours of moderate exercise; however, you should consult your doctor first to determine which one is best for your heart problem. If you already have other cardiovascular disorders, intense activity can greatly increase the strain to which the heart is subjected; your doctor may recommend moderate exercise until your health improves
Step 2. Get slim
People with a large waistline and those with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or greater often have high diastolic blood pressure because the heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body. Focus on weight loss by exercising regularly, eating healthily, and contacting a doctor or dietician to find other effective solutions.
- Especially if you are overweight, even a small weight loss of 4 or 5 kg can greatly improve blood pressure values;
- Also keep in mind that excessive weight in the abdominal area can have a particularly significant impact on blood pressure; as a general rule, you should try to keep a waist size of no more than 100cm if you are a man or 90cm if you are a woman.
Step 3. Stop smoking
The nicotine contained in cigarettes narrows the arteries by hardening the walls and increases the risk of blood clots, heart disease and stroke. Give up smoking as soon as possible to lower your diastolic blood pressure, and if you're having trouble quitting on your own, talk to your doctor for effective methods.
Step 4. Limit and manage stress
When you are emotionally tense, the body releases chemicals and hormones that temporarily constrict blood vessels leading to rapid heartbeat. Long-lasting stress increases the risk of more serious heart problems, such as stroke and heart attack; identify the factors that cause you emotional tension and remove them from your life to normalize your diastolic blood pressure.
While there are many ways to reduce stress, some remedies you can put into practice right away include identifying and avoiding the factors that trigger it, taking 20 minutes each day to enjoy a relaxing activity you enjoy, and practicing gratitude
Step 5. Check your cholesterol levels regularly, regardless of weight
High cholesterol values can contribute to the increase in blood pressure. As a result, have tests ordered every time you visit your doctor, especially if you are over 40.
Part 3 of 3: Medical Care
Step 1. Understand the pressure readings
The higher one represents the systolic pressure (the force exerted by the blood during the heartbeat), while the lower value corresponds to the diastolic (the blood pressure between one beat and another); usually, if the first value is high, the other is too.
Therefore, trying to lower the systolic pressure generally tends to reduce the diastolic as well
Step 2. Monitor your diastolic blood pressure regularly
In this way, you can determine if nutrition and lifestyle are effective in reducing it; to measure it, you can use a sphygmomanometer at home, go to the pharmacy or doctor's office. Diastolic blood pressure is elevated when it reaches or exceeds 90 mmHg and you are at risk of hypertension when it is between 80 and 89 mmHg; remember that to return to normal values it must be between 70 and 80 mmHg.
- If you have been diagnosed with hypertension - regardless of whether it is total blood pressure or just diastolic blood pressure - start monitoring it twice a day for a week (in the morning and in the evening); after that, do two or three checkups a week. When you can keep stable values in the normal range, you can limit yourself to measuring it once or twice a month.
- Keep in mind that it is possible to have unusually low diastolic blood pressure; in this case, it means that the heart is unable to get blood to all vital organs and as a result you may inadvertently increase the risk of stroke and heart attack. Unless your doctor recommends otherwise, always keep your diastolic blood pressure at around 60mmHg and keep it in the range of 70 to 80mmHg to ensure optimal heart condition.
Step 3. See your doctor
Even if you can monitor and keep your diastolic blood pressure low at home, it's always a good idea to consult with your family doctor or other medical professional to ensure heart health. You can collaborate with him and find an effective treatment plan to improve the health conditions of the cardiovascular system and keep it always at its best.
- Your doctor is able to advise you on how to take care of cardiac well-being in general by lowering your diastolic pressure and can give you advice on keeping it at healthy levels, preventing it from reaching dangerously low values.
- It is always advisable to consult your doctor when it comes to blood pressure, but it is even more so if you suffer from any chronic disease / disorder or if you are on drug therapy.
Step 4. Take prescription blood pressure medications
Go to the doctor to get a prescription for those that can control and lower blood pressure; the combination of drug treatment and healthy lifestyle changes has proven effective for this purpose.
- The type of specific drug that your doctor recommends varies according to the health problem that ails you; thiazide diuretics are frequently prescribed to relatively healthy patients.
- If you have other heart conditions or are familiar with heart disease, your doctor may refer you to a beta blocker or calcium channel blocker.
- If you have diabetes, heart or kidney problems, he can offer you ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor antagonists.
- If only the diastolic pressure is elevated but not the systolic pressure, it is generally not necessary to take drugs; in this case, to solve the problem it is enough to respect an adequate diet and make lifestyle changes. However, it is still a good idea to consult a doctor, especially if the new habits in life - such as in the diet - do not completely eliminate the problem.
Step 5. Follow the therapy strictly as recommended by the doctor
This way, you can prevent or delay possible complications associated with hypertension and reduce the risk of other health ailments. For example, your doctor may recommend physical activity to do several times a week; if so, make exercise your priority to become healthier.
- Likewise, if he prescribes any medications that cause negative side effects, ask him to reduce the dosage or change the active ingredient, but don't stop taking them without consulting him first.
- See your doctor regularly a few months after starting treatment. There may be a point where you can stop taking medications and keep your blood pressure under control with other remedies.
Advice
Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and a limited amount of unhealthy fats are all part of the DASH diet (hypertension diet), which typically helps reduce diastolic blood pressure
Warnings
- Do not make sudden changes in your diet, exercise routine or lifestyle without first consulting your doctor; they can undergo a physical examination and prescribe the best treatment for your purpose based on your personal medical history.
- Although it is not recommended to keep diastolic blood pressure too high, some recent studies have found that leaving it below 70 mmHg can increase the risk of stroke and heart attack because at this level the heart is no longer able to adequately supply vital organs with blood.; in particular, you should avoid it falling below 60 mmHg.
