That’s an easy one to answer! High blood pressure is incredibly common. In fact, more than 102 million Americans have elevated blood pressure, or around half of all Americans age 20 and older.

But even though the condition is common, it isn’t really well-understood. That’s why our team at AFC Urgent Care Powdersville wants to share some insight about the condition and how to prevent it.

What Is High Blood Pressure?

We mentioned above that high blood pressure isn’t well-understood. Well, that’s at least in part due to the fact that people don’t understand blood pressure.

Blood pressure is the force with which blood hits the artery walls as it moves through the body. When your blood pressure is elevated, it means your blood is hitting those artery walls quite forcefully, which can damage them and impede blood flow.

High Blood Pressure Risk Factors

• Being overweight or obese
• Not being physically active
• Eating a poor diet
• Not eating enough potassium or eating too much sodium
• Not properly managing stress
• Smoking
• Having a family history of high blood pressure

What Can I Do to Lower My Blood Pressure?

The good news is that while the condition is incredibly common, it is also incredibly preventable. You can take steps to lower your blood pressure.

Take a look through the list of risk factors and identify which ones pertain to you and your lifestyle. Now get to work on changing them!

Ways to Lower Blood Pressure

• Eat a balanced diet filled with fruits and veggies.
• Limit your intake of saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.
• Don’t smoke.
• Find healthy ways to manage stress.
• Exercise for at least 30 minutes most days.

Feeling under the weather? Schedule an AFC TeleCare appointment with AFC Urgent Care Powdersville today to get the care you need from the comfort of home.