Your health care professional can tell you your personal target blood pressure. In many cases this will be your health care professional's first recommendation, likely in one of these areas:. Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisors.

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Find out if you need to lose weight with the BMI healthy weight calculator. If you do need to lose some weight, it's worth remembering that just losing a few pounds will make a big difference to your blood pressure and overall health.

Get advice on losing weight safely. Being active and taking regular exercise lowers blood pressure by keeping your heart and blood vessels in good condition. Regular exercise can also help you lose weight, which will also help lower your blood pressure.

Adults should do at least minutes 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, every week. Physical activity can include anything from sport to walking and gardening.

Drinking more than 4 cups of coffee a day may increase your blood pressure. If you're a big fan of coffee, tea or other caffeine-rich drinks, such as cola and some energy drinks, consider cutting down.

It's fine to drink tea and coffee as part of a balanced diet, but it's important that these drinks are not your main or only source of fluid. Smoking, like high blood pressure, will cause your arteries to narrow.

This can increase your blood pressure. If your arteries get blocked it can cause a heart attack or stroke. If you smoke and have high blood pressure, your arteries will narrow much more quickly, and your risk of heart or lung disease in the future is dramatically increased.

If you're overweight or have obesity, losing even a small amount of weight can help reduce blood pressure. In general, blood pressure might go down by about 1 millimeter of mercury mm Hg with each kilogram about 2.

Also, the size of the waistline is important. Carrying too much weight around the waist can increase the risk of high blood pressure. These numbers vary among ethnic groups. Ask your health care provider about a healthy waist measurement for you.

Regular physical activity can lower high blood pressure by about 5 to 8 mm Hg. It's important to keep exercising to keep blood pressure from rising again. As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day.

Exercise can also help keep elevated blood pressure from turning into high blood pressure hypertension. For those who have hypertension, regular physical activity can bring blood pressure down to safer levels. Some examples of aerobic exercise that can help lower blood pressure include walking, jogging, cycling, swimming or dancing.

Another possibility is high-intensity interval training. This type of training involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with periods of lighter activity. Strength training also can help reduce blood pressure. Aim to include strength training exercises at least two days a week.

Talk to a health care provider about developing an exercise program. Eating a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and low in saturated fat and cholesterol can lower high blood pressure by up to 11 mm Hg.

Examples of eating plans that can help control blood pressure are the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet. Potassium in the diet can lessen the effects of salt sodium on blood pressure.

The best sources of potassium are foods, such as fruits and vegetables, rather than supplements. Aim for 3, to 5, mg a day, which might lower blood pressure 4 to 5 mm Hg. Ask your care provider how much potassium you should have.

Even a small reduction of sodium in the diet can improve heart health and reduce high blood pressure by about 5 to 6 mm Hg. The effect of sodium intake on blood pressure varies among groups of people.

In general, limit sodium to 2, milligrams mg a day or less. However, a lower sodium intake — 1, mg a day or less — is ideal for most adults. Limiting alcohol to less than one drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men can help lower blood pressure by about 4 mm Hg.

One drink equals 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1. But drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure by several points. It can also reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medications. Smoking increases blood pressure. Stopping smoking helps lower blood pressure. It can also reduce the risk of heart disease and improve overall health, possibly leading to a longer life.

Poor sleep quality — getting fewer than six hours of sleep every night for several weeks — can contribute to hypertension. A number of issues can disrupt sleep, including sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and general sleeplessness insomnia. Let your health care provider know if you often have trouble sleeping.

Finding and treating the cause can help improve sleep. However, if you don't have sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome, follow these simple tips for getting more restful sleep. Long-term chronic emotional stress may contribute to high blood pressure.

More research is needed on the effects of stress reduction techniques to find out whether they can reduce blood pressure. However, it can't hurt to determine what causes stress, such as work, family, finances or illness, and find ways to reduce stress.

Try the following:. Home monitoring can help you keep tabs on your blood pressure. It can make certain your medications and lifestyle changes are working. Home blood pressure monitors are available widely and without a prescription.

Talk to a health care provider about home monitoring before you get started. Regular visits with a provider are also key to controlling blood pressure. If your blood pressure is well controlled, ask your provider how often you need to check it. You might be able to check it only once a day or less often.

Supportive family and friends are important to good health. They may encourage you to take care of yourself, drive you to the care provider's office or start an exercise program with you to keep your blood pressure low.

If you find you need support beyond your family and friends, consider joining a support group. This may put you in touch with people who can give you an emotional or morale boost and who can offer practical tips to cope with your condition.

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An alarming one in three American adults has high blood pressure. Known medically as hypertension, many people don't even know they have it, because high blood pressure has no symptoms or warning signs. But when elevated blood pressure is accompanied by abnormal cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the damage to your arteries, kidneys, and heart accelerates exponentially.

Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to detect and treat. In the Special Health Report, Controlling Your Blood Pressure , find out how to keep blood pressure in a healthy range simply by making lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, increasing activity, and eating more healthfully.

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Recent Blog Articles. Flowers, chocolates, organ donation — are you in? However, there is not enough evidence to confirm that most supplements can manage blood pressure. Always check with a doctor before using a supplement, as not all supplements are safe for everyone.

They may worsen other conditions or interact with existing drugs. Learn more about supplements that may lower blood pressure. A review found that consuming 30 g or more of alcohol appears to increase the heart rate for up to 24 hours. Blood pressure, meanwhile, tends to fall for the first 12 hours but then increases.

A standard drink contains around 14 grams of alcohol. Despite the hype, drinking a lot of red wine is not beneficial for heart health, according to the American Heart Association.

They suggest limiting alcohol intake to two standard drinks per day for males and one per day for females. How does alcohol affect the body? People who usually consume 1—3 cups of coffee per day are unlikely to experience a rise in blood pressure.

However, your blood pressure might go up if you consume a lot of coffee or even a small amount when you are not used to it. In contrast, high-caffeine energy drinks may increase blood pressure and, with that, the risk of cardiovascular problems. Experts discourage the consumption of energy drinks, especially among minors with existing health conditions.

If you find that caffeine is affecting how you feel, you might want to try decaffeinated coffee. Is caffeine good or bad for health?

Some research suggests that drinking milliliters ml of water within 2 hours of waking up and another ml 2 hours before bedtime may help reduce blood pressure. However, more research is needed. How much water do you need each day? Which medications can manage high blood pressure? This will depend on the cause and any existing diagnoses you have.

Sitting quietly and doing breathing exercises might help. A person with an existing diagnosis may need to take their prescribed medication. There is a strong link between salt intake and high blood pressure, and reducing salt in the diet can help lower the risk of hypertension and its complications.

How much salt do you need each day? High blood pressure increases the risk for a number of health conditions. People can often prevent it or manage it at home through exercise, dietary choices, stress management, and other strategies.

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Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by Avi Varma, MD, MPH, AAHIVS, FAAFP — By Marjorie Hecht — Updated on October 17, Exercise Manage weight Carbs Potassium and salt Heart-healthy diet Processed food Smoking Stress Dark chocolate Herbal remedies Sleep Garlic Protein Supplements Alcohol Caffeine Water Medication FAQ Summary Medications may help lower your blood pressure.