High blood pressure can increase the risk of stroke, heart attack, and many other health issues. If your elderly loved one has high blood pressure, it is very important that they get it under control as soon as possible. The sooner they can lower their blood pressure and keep it down, the fewer health problems that will arise as a result of them having higher blood pressure. Keep reading here to find out what changes you and senior care providers can help your elderly loved one with, so they can lower their blood pressure.
Losing Weight
Visceral fat accumulates around the kidneys, heart, abdomen, and other areas of the body. When a person has more visceral fat, they are much more likely to have high blood pressure. This is because the body can’t function as well due to the excess visceral fat.
If your elderly loved one is not currently at a healthy weight, you and senior care providers can help them with this. There are many ways that a person can lose weight. The way to start would be to replace one unhealthy meal or snack a day with a healthier one. In addition, you should encourage your elderly loved one to start exercising at least 15 minutes a day more than they do now. For example, if your elderly loved one only walks 15 minutes a day right now, you should encourage them to take another 15-minute walk every day.
Reducing Sodium Intake
Does your elderly loved one add a lot of salt to their food? There are some people who will put salt on practically everything they eat. This can cause high blood pressure which can be very dangerous for a person’s heart.
If your elderly loved one is doing this, you and senior care providers should encourage them to change this habit. They can start by not adding salt to one type of food. For example, if they currently add salt to many foods including meat, have them put a healthy spice on the meats, instead of salt. Lowering daily salt intake can help your elderly loved one to lower their blood pressure.
Eating Bananas
Research shows that high blood pressure can be lowered by eating bananas. Bananas have a lot of magnesium in them. Magnesium has many health benefits including relieving stress, lowering heart rate, and improving sleep. All these benefits can help to lower blood pressure, too.
Conclusion
These are some of the many ways that your elderly loved one can reduce their blood pressure. Remember, the sooner your loved one can do this, the better it is going to be for all aspects of their health.
https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/prevent_manage.htm