Preventing high blood pressure

How can I prevent high blood pressure?

You can help prevent high blood pressure by making healthy choices and managing any health conditions you may have. The following lifestyle changes can help prevent and lower high blood pressure:

Reduce the amount of salt you eat to less than 5g of salt per day (just under a teaspoon).
Have a generally healthy diet; eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day and reduce saturated and total fat intake.
Avoid drinking too much alcohol, which can raise your blood pressure. Limit intake to no more than one standard drink a day.

Maintain a normal weight. Every 5kg of excess weight lost can reduce systolic blood pressure by 2 to 10 points. To determine if your weight is at a healthy range, check your body mass index (BMI) by using our BMI calculator.
Exercise regularly (at least 30 minutes a day).
Cut down on caffeine.

Stop smoking. If you don’t smoke, don’t start.
Try to get at least 6 hours of sleep a night.
Manage stress in healthy way such as through meditation, appropriate physical exercise, and positive social contact.

Some people with high blood pressure may also need to take one or more medicines to stop their blood pressure getting too high.