If you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you may have many questions. First and foremost, you may wonder whether having elevated blood pressure will have serious repercussions for your health.

That’s why our team at AFC Urgent Care Indian Trail would like to share some insight about what high blood pressure is and steps you can take to improve your health.

What Is High Blood Pressure?

Let’s first nail down what blood pressure is—it’s the literal pressure of your blood pulsing against your artery walls. When your blood pressure is high, it means your blood is hitting those walls very forcefully.

That’s enough to cause damage to your artery walls over time, increasing your risk of serious health conditions such as heart disease. That’s why it’s important to ensure you know your blood pressure and take steps to lower your blood pressure if it’s high.

Risk Factors for High Blood Pressure

• Being overweight or obese
• Living a sedentary lifestyle
• Smoking
• Eating too much sodium
• Eating too little potassium
• Drinking excessive alcohol
• Not properly managing stress

What Can I Do to Keep My Blood Pressure Normal?

If your blood pressure is too high, there are steps you can take to get it to a normal level. Those steps involve building healthy habits.

You want to practice healthy lifestyle habits, so exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet low in sodium and saturated fat, get plenty of quality sleep, don’t smoke and limit your alcohol consumption. Pay particular attention to what you’re eating, since some foods are known to help lower blood pressure.

Foods That Can Lower Blood Pressure

• Leafy greens
• Berries
• Beets
• Oatmeal
• Bananas
• Fatty fish
• Seeds

Feeling less than your best? Schedule an AFC TeleCare appointment with AFC Urgent Care Indian Trail today to get the care you need from the comfort of home.