If hypertension is left untreated, blood vessels gradually become stiff and narrow, increasing the risk of various cardiovascular diseases. However, 54% of people with hypertension have poorly controlled blood pressure (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), exposing them to cardiovascular complications. The problem is that taking medication alone does not fully control blood pressure. Strict dietary management must be implemented alongside. There are domestic research findings that support this.

 

Seoul Asan Medical Center's Department of Family Medicine research team studied blood pressure changes over three months in 1,139 patients prescribed antihypertensive medication. Among them, 178 patients took the medication consistently but did not achieve normal blood pressure levels. The medication adherence rates in the well-controlled blood pressure group and the poorly controlled group were 95.7% and 93.1%, respectively, with no statistically significant difference. The research team explained that even if patients take their medication regularly, failure to manage lifestyle habits increases the likelihood of unsuccessful blood pressure control.

When investigating patients who failed to control their blood pressure, it was found that an increase in body mass index doubled the likelihood of failure, and when physical activity did not increase, the risk was 2.4 times higher. Conversely, in the analysis of patients who successfully controlled their blood pressure,

 

The success rate was three times higher for people who did not add salt or soy sauce to their food, and those who did not dip fried foods in soy sauce had a 2.6 times higher success rate.

 

Eating salty foods frequently can lead to increased sodium intake, which may raise blood pressure. When blood sodium levels rise, osmotic pressure causes cellular water to exit into the bloodstream, increasing blood volume and consequently raising blood pressure.

 

Therefore, when taking hypertension medication, it is essential to improve lifestyle habits by increasing physical activity, avoiding salty tastes, and eating bland foods. If blood pressure cannot be controlled through these measures, the dosage of medication must be increased. However, high doses of blood pressure medication can temporarily cause a rapid drop in blood pressure, leading to orthostatic hypotension, which increases the risk of drug side effects.

 

 

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My mom has low blood pressure.

I went to the hospital this time and gained weight.

My blood pressure suddenly went up a bit.

 

They said they ate very salty food for about a week.

Older people tend to eat too salty.

 

It seems that blood pressure rises quickly as well.

 

Salty food

Broth, especially stew types,

You can think of it as a lump of salt.