You should be receiving regular blood pressure checks if you have long term chronic illness. If you want to check it more often than you go to the doctor, you can purchase a monitoring device that lets you measure blood pressure. There are different kinds to choose from. Two of those are the aneroid and digital monitor. This may be helpful for someone who has diabetes mellitus and needs good long term control because they have a risk of vascular problems.
Now, the aneroid type monitor uses a pointer to let you read your blood pressure. The digital monitor displays your reading on a screen which makes it easier to read.The aneroid monitor is cheaper but not as easy to use. This may have value if you visit for a health check up and get nervous. This can make a reading higher than it should be due to being around healthcare professionals.
Among taking your own blood pressure readings, you can double check your lifestyle habits. Are you on a healthy diet? Eating healthy will help keep your blood pressure low and normal. Cut back on salt (known as sodium). Opt for seasonings to give an alternative taste. Salt substitutes contain potassium instead of sodium and can cause problems with certain medications such as digoxin.
Introduce more vegetables and fresh fruits into your diet. If you use tobacco (stop doing so )or drink excessive amounts of alcohol try to cut back or refrain completely. These will raise your blood pressure putting you at more risk for a stroke or heart disease.Only eat one piece of fruit at a time in you have glucose intolerance or suffer diabetes.
If you cannot quit these on your own there are plenty of resources and trained people to help.Would you consider yourself at a healthy weight or overweight? Overweight people are more prone to developing high blood pressure (hypertensive disease).
If you are not already regularly physically active, try to do at least thirty minutes of physical exercise three times a week. This will make you feel a lot better. Did you know there is a definite link between depressive illness and heart problems? Not difficult to believe when depressed people do not look after themselves.
Having high blood pressure puts your health at risk. If these lifestyle changes do not help, you may eventually have to consider going on medications. There are many different kinds of blood pressure medications and they need to be combined with a healthy lifestyle and exercise to deal with the issue more effectively.
For more related information visit Blood Pressure Readings. Get knowledge on dealing with symptoms, drug side effects and improving your life!