{"id":5132,"date":"2019-12-04T14:52:43","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T06:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paulstokes.com.au\/?p=5132"},"modified":"2021-04-12T22:13:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T14:13:05","slug":"how-to-lower-your-blood-pressure-and-cholesterol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paulstokes.com.au\/how-to-lower-your-blood-pressure-and-cholesterol\/","title":{"rendered":"How to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol"},"content":{"rendered":"

A youthful artery wall is soft and elastic. It acts as a springboard to assist the flow of blood around the body. The unavoidable age-related changes that cause an increase in blood pressure are a loss of elasticity and hardening of artery walls called arteriosclerosis.<\/p>\n

Arteries harden and become more susceptible to rupture or haemorrhage when a build-up of plaque or fatty tissue (called atherosclerosis) damages the lining of the artery wall and leads to further hardening. Cholesterol levels increase in both men and women as they age. Women tend to have less than men between the age of 50 – 55 until menopause when it begins to rise.<\/p>\n

Cardiovascular disease<\/h2>\n

High blood pressure and rising cholesterol levels are partners in crime. They are the main villains in the rising rates of cardiovascular disease (42,384 deaths in 2017) in the UK. High fat diets and low fruit and vegetable intake are a primary cause of fatty low-density lipoproteins (LDL’s) building up on artery walls. This causes blood pressure to silently rise. No signs or symptoms appear until arteries are 70% blocked.<\/p>\n

This is when symptoms of angina, or worse, a heart attack will inform us that we have a problem! However, diet and exercise can lower LDL’s. Both of these improve the levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL’s). HDLs act as the health police and collect up the LDLs and transport to the liver for disposal.<\/p>\n

Eating less saturated fat and more fresh unprocessed food helps arteries age healthily. Especially fruit and vegetables which can lower cholesterol 5 – 10 %. Except for those who have Familial Hyperlipidaemia (FH), inherited high cholesterol. FH affects 1 in 500 people in the UK. It can cause cholesterol levels to rise from an acceptable level of under 5mmol\/l (still high compared to Europe where levels are 4mmol\/l and lower) to over 7.5mmol\/l. People with FH will require cholesterol-lowering drugs as well as diet and exercise to control their cholesterol level.<\/p>\n

The levels of total cholesterol fall into the following categories:<\/h3>\n