This organization warns us that there are more than 14 million hypertensive people in Spain, that is, they suffer the main disease caused by inadequate levels of blood pressure, which is the force exerted by the blood against the walls of the arteries.

This ailment, which is associated with the elderly (with ageing the arteries become harder becoming less elastic), also affects young people and adults for different reasons, such as for overweight, inadequate nutrition, a sedentary lifestyle or, in some cases, by genetic inheritance.

It is important to know the values ​​of blood pressure since hypertension does not give clear signals, so one can suffer without knowing it. Whether it’s a visit to the doctor or at the pharmacy, it is worth taking the stress so that, if you need it, consult a specialist who indicates how to proceed.

To have a simple reference, in adults the normal values ​​are 120/80, defining Seh-Lelha as arterial hypertension the figures that exceed 140/90 and considering pre-hypertensive the values ​​between 130-139 of systolic blood pressure and 85- 89 of diastolic blood pressure.

Tips to keep hypertension at bay

Seh-Lelha, in his Guide for the Prescription of Physical Exercise in Patients with Cardiovascular Risk, indicates that aerobic physical exercise produces a reduction of up to 7 mm Hg, maintaining the effect for 22 hours. Its main recommendations are:

  • Perform continuous and prolonged activities of moderate-intensity that involve large muscle groups.
  • Maintain a record of between 3 and 5 days per week of physical exercise, in sessions of 30/60 minutes.

In relation to strength exercises, there are 3mm decreases that, although it may seem little, it is estimated that it reduces coronary heart disease by 5-9% and strokes by 8-14% in the average population.

The guide proposes:

  • Perform multiarticular exercises, since those located very well, especially in the upper train, produce greater tensional elevation.
  • Work with a series of 8-12 repetitions at moderate intensity, resting between 30 and 60 seconds.
  • Avoid the Valsalva manoeuvre by controlling the respiratory cycles between each repetition.

In addition to physical exercise, it is important to combat hypertension through proper diet, so it is advised:

  • Avoid the consumption of salt in meals.
  • Reduce foods rich in saturated fats.
  • Limit processed foods
  • Choose fresh fruits and vegetables.
  • Choose to cook fish, chicken or lean meats in a healthy way, whether they are baked, boiled or roasted.

All this contributes to diminishing the possibilities of suffering a cardiopathy or a cardiovascular accident adding, in addition, healthy habits of life that produce us the greater sense of well-being and happiness.