Try Herbs
You may choose to use herbal remedies to manage your blood pressure. These three are good options:
- Hawthorn –Hawthorn improves circulation within your heart. It normalizes cardiac function and helps your blood vessels to relax, thereby decreasing blood pressure.
- Dandelion leaf – Dandelion can be consumed in the diet as a food or a tea. Dandelion is a diuretic, so it the body of excess fluid. It works in a similar way to pharmaceutical diuretics. However, unlike drugs for high blood pressure, dandelion does not deplete the body of potassium.
- Olive leaf – Olive leaf is another herb that causes blood vessels to relax. It is rich in healthy antioxidants that benefit the entire body.
Get Moving
Movement is essential for weight loss. In addition to helping you to lose weight, exercise makes your entire body healthier. It reduces inflammation, relieves stress and helps your body to utilize nutrients better.
Even if you exercise for a just few minutes each day, your body will continue to burn off excess calories at a faster rate than if you do not exercise. Check with your health care provider prior to beginning an exercise program. Be sure to stay hydrated during and after exercising.
Quit Smoking
The use of tobacco increases your blood pressure by several means. Firstly, it is a stimulant and causes your blood vessels to constrict and become less flexible. Additionally, when you smoke tobacco particles deposit in your airways. This results in pressure building up in the blood vessels of your chest, neck and heart.
Even if you have tried to quit before and failed, give it another try. Smoking cessation is important for your entire body.
Reduce and Manage Stress
Stress may cause you to go into atrial fibrillation. It also causes your blood pressure to rise. Consider these tips for reducing and better managing stress:
- Pay attention to stressors. Look at each stressor individually. Is the stressor something or that you can remove from your life? Can the situation be modified? Do you need to adjust how you react to a certain individual or stressor?
- There are many things you can do to reduce the stressors in your life. Consider taking actions which help you to manage time better. Do you need to improve your organizational skills? Counselling, spiritual guidance, yoga and meditation can all help reduce and manage stress, too. Sometimes all that is required is a deep breath, some time out or a good night’s sleep.
- Be aware of how you spend the minutes of your day. One of the most important questions that I ask myself when I feel stressed is, “How important is it?” While my initial thought may be that the project or situation is very important, when I take a second look I realize that in the grand scheme of things the stressor is actually minor.
- Do one thing at a time. While many consider multitasking a skill, health experts realize that it’s not good for us. It causes stress and a lack of concentration, and can contribute to an increase of blood pressure. Leading health experts conclude that our bodies were never designed to multitask. Allow yourself to concentrate fully on the task before you and let go of other activities.
Take a Break
Large corporations are now requiring workers to take their vacation time. Many employees have been in the habit of saving time off or cashing it in, but corporate leaders now realize that workers need vacation time in order to reduce levels of stress and increase productivity.
This thinking applies to everyone, whether employed or not. We all need to take time out in order to reduce stress and regroup. It doesn’t mean that we need to take long vacations, but it does mean that we need to make indulging in periods of restoration a priority.
Relaxation will lower your blood pressure, energize, you, and help you to stay focused on living well. You will be able to concentrate on the steps which you need to stay well despite having a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. You will be more motivated to eat well, exercise, quit smoking, engage in healthy activities, and simply relax. All of these activities will reduce your blood pressure, lessen your chances of heart disease, and lower your risk of stroke.
