Hypertension self-treatment

You can treat yourself. As hypertension is really more of a lifestyle – disease – cum-hereditary-health problem, the management is also complex and demanding. The treatment can be placed under two basic heads:

• Pharmacological treatment, i.e. using chemicals or medicines

• Non-pharmacological or lifestyle modification. 

In this book, we do not want to scare people with medical jargon but definitely lifestyle modification would be dealt in detail. These would cover:

• Obesity, its inter-relationship with hypertension and home management of obesity. 

• Dietary precautions, i.e. vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet, salt intake and a note on certain food items considered good for control of hypertension. 

• Physical workout: its importance, classification and the benefits in control of hypertension. 

• Behavioural approach.

• Management of problems associated with hypertension. 

Lifestyle modification is not as simple as it may sound, especially in a family-oriented culture like ours. To bring about a qualitative change in our lifestyle, we would impinge on the freedom of others both at home and at the workplace. Also, a need for change may be perceived but the inertia in the lives of most people would not allow them to change. Scientists have studied this phenomenon of a mental block to change and damage. Prochaska has gone ahead and classified people as per their readiness to change. 

Prochaska has suggested the stages of change classification for modification to make lifestyle changes. 

• Obesity and hypertension – the dynamics

• Weight classification and obesity ( based on BMI)

• Pillars of successful weight management

• Vegetarianism vs non-vegetarianism

• USDA food guide pyramid, Asian diet pyramid

• Caloric values of common food sources

• Lifestyle modifications that influence blood pressure

• Assessment of physical activity level

• Approach to understanding your psyche

• Techniques

• Controlled breathing techniques

• Wrap up