Hypertension is one of the "three highs". Once you develop high blood pressure, you need to control your blood pressure for a long time. What many people don’t know is that although high blood pressure is a chronic disease that may not seem fatal, it can cause many long-term harms. Many patients with hypertension eventually die not from hypertension, but from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases caused by hypertension, such as coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, cerebral thrombosis, cerebral hemorrhage, hypertensive nephropathy, etc.

Lowering systolic blood pressure (high pressure) to <140 mmHg is currently accepted as standard antihypertensive treatment. And just controlling blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg is not the ultimate goal.

What’s more important is to reduce the harm of high blood pressure to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases! How low can blood pressure be lowered to have the lowest risk of cardiovascular death?

The “optimal blood pressure value” for Chinese people is released

Recently, at the American Heart Association (AHA) 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting, the results of a large-scale randomized clinical trial led by Professor Li Jing of Fuwai Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and others were announced.

The study found that for people with high blood pressure, compared with standard blood pressure reduction to reduce systolic blood pressure (high pressure) to <140 mmHg, intensive blood pressure reduction to reduce systolic blood pressure (high pressure) to <120 mmHg can significantly reduce the risk of adverse cardiovascular diseases and reduce the risk of death.

In other words, lowering high blood pressure to 140 mmHg is not the end of the world, but it is best to lower blood pressure to <120 mmHg as much as possible!

The study included 11,255 cases from 116 hospitals and health service centers in 23 provinces/municipalities across the country. They were ≥50 years old, had a systolic blood pressure of 130-180 mmHg, and had vascular disease or at least two major cardiovascular risk factors.

Results after 3 years of follow-up showed that compared with the standard antihypertensive group (<140 mmHg), the intensive antihypertensive group (<120 mmHg) had a 12% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, a 39% reduction in cardiovascular mortality, and a 21% reduction in all-cause mortality.

A change in life can reduce blood pressure as effectively as antihypertensive drugs

Many people suffer from high blood pressure because they eat too much salt, which is mainly due to the sodium in table salt. When the sodium content in our body exceeds the standard, the osmotic pressure in the blood will increase.

In November 2023, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study on a clinical trial, which found:A low-sodium diet can lower systolic blood pressure. The researchers commented in the paper: (The antihypertensive effect of a low-sodium diet) is similar to that of commonly used first-line antihypertensive drugs.

The study recruited 218 trial participants, and the researchers first measured the sodium and salt intake of 218 people.

Their median daily dietary salt intake is 11.3 grams (about 4.45 grams of sodium), which is similar to many daily dietary salt intakes in my country.

Researchers asked participants to try a high-sodium diet for 1 week, that is, consuming 12.7 grams of salt per day (about 5 grams of sodium); and then asked them to try a low-sodium diet for 1 week, consuming 3.22 grams of salt per day (about 1.27 grams of sodium). The study found that the low-sodium diet can reduce systolic blood pressure by an average of 8 mmHg.

The "Chinese Dietary Guidelines" recommend that adults should consume no more than 5 grams of salt per day! Therefore, for many people with high blood pressure, do not think that they can eat unscrupulously after taking antihypertensive drugs. If you want to control your blood pressure below 120 mmHg, in addition to taking medication as prescribed by your doctor, it is also helpful to reduce your daily salt intake.

Four habits to lower blood pressure that many people don’t know yet!

1. Maintain exercise in daily life

In March 2021, the European Association for the Prevention of Cardiology released a consensus on exercise prescriptions for the prevention and treatment of hypertension. For patients with hypertension, exercise is indeed effective in lowering blood pressure. The consensus recommended aerobic exercise includes: brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, aerobics, skipping, etc. The average systolic blood pressure can be reduced by 4.9~12.0 mmHg, and the diastolic blood pressure can be reduced by 3.4~5.8 mmHg.

2. Replace the salt at home with low-sodium salt

In January 2022, Professor Wu Yangfeng from the Peking University Clinical Research Institute published a study in the "Chinese Journal of Circulation" showing that replacing the salt at home with low-sodium salt can reduce 1 million deaths every year! Low-sodium salt is made by mixing a certain proportion of potassium chloride, which also has a salty taste, into ordinary table salt (sodium chloride content is 90% to 99%) to reduce sodium intake. Therefore, when buying table salt in the future, you can try to choose low-sodium salt. However, low-sodium salt contains potassium, which is not suitable for people with kidney disease or high blood potassium.

3. Quit smoking and drinking as soon as possible

Smoking increases blood pressure and increases heart rate. The chemicals in tobacco can damage blood vessel walls, cause blood vessel inflammation and hardening, and constrict arterial blood vessels. Arteriosclerosis can lead to increased blood pressure. Second-hand and third-hand smoke can also affect blood vessels. Drinking alcohol is also one of the important factors leading to high blood pressure. Many people who like to drink often have high blood pressure. Please observe carefully in your life. This is because heavy drinking can increase the excitability of the sympathetic nervous system, increase heart rate and cardiac blood output, so it has the effect of raising blood pressure.

4. Don’t stay up late and get enough sleep

A study published in 2023 in the authoritative medical journal "Hypertension" found that difficulty falling asleep, interrupted sleep, and short sleep duration were all associated with a higher risk of high blood pressure. The study included 110,000 female nurses without hypertension. During a 16-year follow-up study, it was found that compared with sleeping 7-8 hours a day, women who reported shorter sleep time had a significantly higher risk of hypertension; moreover, women who had difficulty falling asleep or interrupted sleep and woke up early had a significantly higher risk of hypertension.