The short answer is yes. High blood pressure affects people of all ages, races and genders, and it’s incredibly common.

In fact, some 103 million Americans have high blood pressure—that’s about half of Americans age 20 and older. Today, our team at AFC Urgent Care Smyrna wants to take a few minutes to talk you through the condition and how to prevent it.

How Does Blood Pressure Work?

Blood pressure is the force with which blood hits your artery walls as it moves its way through the body. Normally, blood moves seamlessly and easily.

But when you have high blood pressure, also called hypertension, your blood is hitting those walls quite forcefully. Over time, this can damage the arteries, impede blood flow and increase your risk for certain health conditions.

Hypertension Risk Factors

• Being physically inactive
• Being overweight or obese
• Eating a poor diet
• Eating too much sodium or not enough potassium
• Smoking
• Drink excessively
• Having unmanaged stress
• Having a family history of high blood pressure

What Can I Do to Keep My Blood Pressure Normal?

Take a look at the risk factors we’ve outlined above. While you don’t have any control over your family’s medical history, you can make changes to any of the other risk factors.

Practicing healthy lifestyle habits is an important step in the right direction. If trying to build healthy habits feels overwhelming at first, make one or two changes, then add in more healthy habits over time.

Habits That Can Lower Blood Pressure

• Exercise for at least 30 minutes most days.
• Include both cardio and strength training to build muscle mass.
• Eat a diet based on fruits and vegetables.
• Limit your intake of saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.
• Limit your alcohol intake to one drink per day for women and two for men.
• Don’t smoke, or quit if you do.

Feeling less than your best? Stop by AFC Urgent Care Smyrna for a diagnosis and treatment plan to get you back to your best.