How to Lower Diastolic Blood Pressure

Diastolic pressure is the pressure the blood exerts on the artery walls when the heart rests between beats. A healthy diastolic blood pressure is between 70 and 80 mmHg. If your diastolic blood pressure is 90 mmHg or higher, you’re at increased risk for heart attack, stroke, and other health problems. You can lower your diastolic blood pressure in a similar way to your systolic blood pressure: with a healthy diet, exercise, lifestyle modifications, and medication, in some cases.

Table of Contents

Adopt a heart-healthy diet

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Build a diet that includes healthy whole foods. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, beans, low-fat dairy products, and foods rich in potassium naturally can help improve heart health and lower blood pressure. diastolic pressure. You should start to increase your intake of whole foods and cut back on processed foods as well as foods high in sugar and fat.

Try to cut back on refined carbs and processed foods, and go for lean proteins like fish, chicken, and grass-fed beef instead. ^{[1] X Trusted Source PubMed Central Go to Source}
Eliminate or limit sweet treats to 5 or fewer servings per week. ^{[2] X Trusted Source PubMed Central Go to Source}
Potassium-rich foods can help balance out the effects of sodium, so you should consider eating more potassium-rich fruits and vegetables, including oranges, avocados, beans, leafy greens, potatoes, and tomatoes.

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Reduce sodium intake. Excess sodium causes water retention in the body, forcing the heart and arteries to work harder to pump blood around the body. Daily sodium intake should not exceed 1,500mg/day. You should use sea salt instead of cooking salt, which often contains artificial additives that are harmful to health.

Note that an average of 1 teaspoon of table salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium. The average person consumes about 3,400 mg of sodium per day – twice the recommended amount.
Excess sodium can cause the body to retain water, which increases the burden on the heart and blood vessels. Therefore, excess sodium can raise both diastolic and systolic blood pressure.
Read food labels and choose products with only 140 mg or less of sodium per serving. Limit salt, MSG, baking soda, baking powder, sodium phosphate, and any compounds with “sodium” or “Na” in them. Use herbs, spices, and natural ingredients to enhance the flavor of your food instead of grabbing a salt shaker.

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Cut down or abstain from alcohol completely. Studies have shown that moderate alcohol consumption can improve heart health, but drinking more than 1-2 glasses of alcohol a day increases the risk of diastolic hypertension and causes adverse health effects. Reduce your alcohol intake and ask your doctor about the recommended limit. ^{[3] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

Note that “one unit of alcohol” is equivalent to 350 ml of beer, 145 ml of wine or 45 ml of 40% alcohol. ^{[4] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

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Reduce or stop drinking caffeine. Caffeine has been linked to high diastolic blood pressure readings, which usually occurs when caffeine suppresses the hormones responsible for keeping arteries open. You should reduce your caffeine intake and replace coffee, energy drinks or soda with white, green and black tea when you need an energy boost. ^{[5] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

Technically, caffeine may or may not have a significant effect on blood pressure. If you don’t drink regularly, caffeine can cause a sudden spike in blood pressure, but if you drink regularly for a long time, the effects of caffeine will be milder. Try checking your blood pressure within 30 minutes of drinking a caffeinated beverage; If your diastolic or systolic blood pressure rises by 5 to 10 mmHg, that’s too much. You should find a way to cut back.
If you decide to cut back on caffeine, it’s a good idea to spend several days gradually cutting back and reducing your intake by about 200 mg per day on average – about 2 350 ml cups of coffee.

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Avoid or reduce consumption of red meats. Regular consumption of red meat increases diastolic blood pressure and increases the risk of heart disease. That’s because the high fat content in meat increases cholesterol and raises blood pressure. You should break the habit of regularly eating red meat like beef and switch to healthier meats like chicken, turkey and fish.

Avoid sugar and sugary drinks. Sweeteners can cause blood pressure to rise over time, so you should try to eliminate drinks and sweets from your diet. Try replacing it with healthy snacks and try to drink only water or sugar-free beverages. ^{[6] X Trusted Source PubMed Central Go to Source}

If you still like to eat sweet, you can choose dark chocolate because it can help lower blood pressure. ^{[7] X Trusted Source PubMed Central Go to Source}

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Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can improve heart health, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart disease. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids include walnuts, salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines and tilapia.

It’s best to eat 2-3 servings of healthy fats per day. Although omega-3 fatty acids are a good choice, any monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat can help lower diastolic blood pressure. These fats can include a variety of vegetable oils such as olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, and sesame oil. ^{[8] X American Heart Association Trusted Source Go to Source}
Avoid foods with saturated fats and trans fats, as these fats have an adverse effect on blood pressure. Foods that contain unhealthy fats include fried foods and processed foods.

Lifestyle improvement

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Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week. An exercise routine strengthens the heart muscle, improves blood circulation, and allows the heart to pump blood more easily without exertion. Choose an activity that you don’t mind incorporating into your daily routine. Start walking, jogging, cycling, dancing, swimming, or work with your doctor to build a workout routine that works best for you. ^{[9] X Trusted Source Consumer Reports Go to Source}

Remember that the type of exercise will affect how long you need to practice. In general, you should aim for 75 minutes of high-intensity or 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, but check with your doctor first to determine the right level of exercise for your heart. ^{[10] X Research Source} If you have heart problems, for example, overtraining can put a lot of strain on your heart; Your doctor may recommend moderate exercise until your health improves.

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Lose excess weight. People with large waistlines and a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher are at risk for high diastolic blood pressure because the heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body. You should focus on losing weight by exercising regularly, eating healthy and consulting your doctor about effective weight loss measures.

If you are quite overweight, losing 5 kg can also significantly improve blood pressure readings.
It is also important to note that excess weight concentrated around the waist can have a big impact on blood pressure. As a general rule, you should keep your waistline at less than 102 cm (for men) or 90 cm (for women). ^{[11] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

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Stop smoking . The nicotine in cigarettes narrows the arteries, hardens the artery walls and increases the risk of blood clots, heart disease and stroke. You need to stop smoking as soon as possible to lower your diastolic blood pressure and ask your doctor about effective smoking cessation methods if you are having trouble quitting. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Try intermittent fasting. Instead of eating every time you feel hungry, set a time during the day when you don’t eat anything. Try starting with 1 or 2 days a week fasting for about 8 hours. On non-fasting days, you’ll still eat a healthy, but calorie-restricted, diet. ^{[13] X Cleveland Clinic Trusted Source Go to Source}

Do not fast if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have type 1 diabetes or have an eating disorder.

Find medical treatments

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Understanding blood pressure readings. The upper number is the systolic blood pressure (the pressure of the blood when the heart beats). The bottom number is the diastolic pressure (the pressure when the heart rests between beats).

Therefore, measures to reduce systolic blood pressure often also help lower diastolic blood pressure.

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Monitor diastolic blood pressure regularly. This will help you see if adjusting your diet and changing your lifestyle is effective in reducing your blood pressure. You can do this by using a blood pressure monitor at home or in medical facilities and clinics. A diastolic blood pressure reading of 90 mmHg or higher is considered high; People with readings between 80 and 89 mmHg have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure. A normal diastolic blood pressure reading is in the 70-80 mmHg range, but it can be lower if you’re young or exercising. ^{[18] X Trusted Source Centers for Disease Contrp and Prevention Go to source}

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure – whether general hypertension or only diastolic hypertension – start checking your blood pressure twice a day for a week (once in the morning, once in the evening). . You can then measure your blood pressure 2-3 times per week. Once your blood pressure is under control, you only need to check it once or twice a month. ^{[19] X Trusted Source Harvard Medical Schop Go to Source}
Note that there is a chance that your diastolic blood pressure is too low. If you have abnormally low diastolic blood pressure, your heart is not pumping enough blood to your vital organs. It can be caused by overtraining, but it can also be caused by more serious illnesses, such as anorexia nervosa. This condition can lead to an increased risk of stroke and heart attack. ^{[20] X Research Source}

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Consult your doctor. Even if you’ve found ways to monitor and lower your diastolic blood pressure, it’s still a good idea to consult with your doctor or medical professional. You can work with your doctor to develop a treatment plan to improve and maintain healthy blood pressure.

Your doctor can teach you ways to manage your overall heart health and reduce your diastolic blood pressure to a healthy level without falling too low.
Talking to your doctor about your blood pressure is always a good thing, and even more so if you have a chronic medical condition or are taking any medications.

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Take prescription blood pressure medication. See your doctor for a prescription to control and lower your blood pressure. A combination of prescription medications and lifestyle changes has been shown to effectively reduce diastolic blood pressure.

The specific medications your doctor prescribes for you can vary, usually based on your medical condition. Thiazide diuretics are the most commonly prescribed for relatively healthy individuals. ^{[21] X Trusted Source Consumer Reports Go to Source}
If you have other heart problems or a family history of heart disease, your doctor may prescribe beta blockers or calcium channel blockers.
If you have diabetes, heart problems, or kidney disease, your doctor may consider prescribing an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker.
Keep in mind that you won’t usually need medication if only your diastolic blood pressure rises, but your systolic blood pressure doesn’t. Diet and lifestyle changes are often enough to improve blood pressure readings, but it’s still a good idea to consult a doctor, especially if natural remedies don’t solve the problem.

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Follow the treatment regimen prescribed by your doctor. This helps prevent or delay the complications of high blood pressure and minimizes the risk of related diseases. For example, if your doctor recommends that you exercise several times a week to lower your blood pressure, prioritize physical activity to improve your fitness. ^{[22] X Trusted Source National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Go to Source}

On the other hand, if a medication prescribed by your doctor causes side effects, ask your doctor about reducing the dose or switching to another drug, but don’t stop taking it without first consulting your doctor.
Go for a follow-up visit every few months after drug treatment. At some point you can stop taking your medication and keep your blood pressure under control with other measures.

Advice

Focusing on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and reducing unhealthy fats are elements of the DASH diet. The DASH diet will often help you lower your diastolic blood pressure.

Warning

Do not make any sudden changes in your diet, exercise regimen or lifestyle without consulting your doctor first. Your doctor can examine you and recommend the most appropriate treatment plan to help you lower your diastolic blood pressure based on your medical history.
While you shouldn’t let your diastolic blood pressure get too high, recent studies show that a diastolic blood pressure below 70 mmHg can also increase your risk of heart attack and stroke, because with a low number As a result, the body is no longer able to effectively supply blood to vital organs. In particular, you should not let this index drop below 60 mmHg. ^{[23] X Research Sources}

Steps

Adopt a heart-healthy diet

Lifestyle improvement

Find medical treatments

Advice

Warning

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