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High blood pressure and how to lower it
6-minute read
Key facts
- High blood pressure raises your risk of heart disease, stroke and chronic kidney disease.
- Lifestyle measures — such as losing weight and changing your diet — may be enough to lower your blood pressure.
- You may also need to take medicine to lower your blood pressure.
- High blood pressure doesn't usually have symptoms, so regular blood pressure checks are important.
What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure (hypertension) is when your blood pressure is 140/90mmHg or higher.
Many people who have high blood pressure do not have any symptoms. But high blood pressure can lead to:
How can I lower my blood pressure?
You may find that lifestyle changes can lower your blood pressure. Often, a combination of lifestyle measures works better than one alone.
Lifestyle measures that can help lower your blood pressure are:
- getting regular physical activity
- eating a healthy diet
- maintaining a healthy weight
- not smoking or vaping
- limiting the amount of alcohol you drink
Combing a healthy diet with exercise and weight loss will help to reduce your blood pressure.
Many people also need to take medicines to lower blood pressure.
Regular physical activity
There is strong evidence that regular physical activity can protect against high blood pressure
For adults aged 18 to 64 years
If you're aged 18 to 64 years, aim for 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate-intensity activity each week. Or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous activity every week.
This can be broken down into shorter periods of activity.
Moderate-intensity activity includes:
- brisk walking
- golf
- mowing the lawn
- swimming
Vigorous activity includes:
- aerobics
- fast cycling
- jogging
- netball
- soccer
You should also do muscle strengthening (resistance) exercises at least 2 days each week. Resistance exercises include:
- household tasks where you carry things or dig
- lifting weights
- lunges
- pull-ups
- push-ups
Adults aged 65 years and older
If you're aged 65 years or older, you should aim for 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity on most days. Again, this can be broken down into shorter periods of activity.
Any activity is better than none, and you can gradually build up to the target total
Adults with chronic conditions
Check with your doctor before you start exercising if you have any of the following:
- diabetes with poor blood sugar control
- heart failure or cardiomyopathy
- having had a heart attack in the last 3 months
- severe aortic stenosis
- shortness of breath when resting or low activity
- tachycardia (fast heartbeat) or heart arrhythmias
- unstable angina
If you have any chest pain, palpitations (awareness of your heartbeat) or unexpected breathlessness during exercise, stop the activity and seek medical advice.
Healthy diet
Try to eat a healthy diet with a variety of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. This is in line with the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
Milk, yoghurt and cheese (reduced fat varieties) can protect you against heart disease and stroke. It can also reduce your risk of high blood pressure.
Salt
Reduce your salt intake to fewer than 4g per day if you have high blood pressure. Salt is often listed as sodium on food labels. Look for products with less than 400mg of salt in a 100g serving.
You can also:
- choose foods with 'low' or 'no added salt'
- not add salt to your meals
Fats
There is no evidence that eating fat is directly related to getting high blood pressure. But eating some types of fat can increase your risk of heart disease.
Limit your fat intake to 20% to 35% of your total energy intake.
Saturated and trans fats should be no more than 10% of your energy intake.
The DASH diet
The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) promotes the eating of:
- fruits
- vegetables
- low-fat dairy products
- whole grains
- fish
- poultry
- nuts
It limits the eating of:
- fat
- red meat
- sweets
- drinks containing sugar
This lowers how much sodium you eat. It also increases how much potassium, calcium and magnesium you eat.
In 2 to 4 weeks, the DASH diet has been shown to reduce:
- systolic blood pressure by 6mmHg
- diastolic blood pressure by 3mmHg
(You can read more about these blood pressure numbers in 'What is a healthy blood pressure'.)
Ask your doctor for a referral to a dietitian to get more advice about the DASH diet.
Healthy weight
If you are overweight, even a small amount of weight loss can reduce your blood pressure. Keep your body mass index (BMI) in the healthy range (less than 25kg/m2).
Every 1% reduction in your body weight can lower your systolic blood pressure by 1mmHg.
Your waist circumference should be:
- less than 94cm for males
- less than 90cm for Asian males
- less than 80cm for females
Quit smoking or vaping
Your doctor can help you to quit smoking or vaping.
Quitting smoking has been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.
The benefits of quitting smoking or vaping can start within a week, depending on how much you smoke.
Limit your alcohol intake
Aim to limit your alcohol intake to 1 standard drink per day for females, and 2 standard drinks for males.
You can read more about how alcohol affects your health.
Relaxation therapies
There is no strong evidence that relaxation therapies help to lower blood pressure.
What medicines are prescribed for high blood pressure (hypertension)?
In some people, lifestyle measures aren't enough to control blood pressure. Your doctor may suggest that you take medicines to lower your blood pressure.
These medicines are called 'anti-hypertensives'. They are usually taken every day.
The most common blood pressure medicines are:
- ACE inhibitors
- angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs)
- beta blockers
- diuretics
- calcium channel blockers
More than 1 in 2 people will need 2 types of medicines to control their blood pressure.
Tips for managing your blood pressure medicines
It's important to take your blood pressure medicine:
- every day — even if you feel better
- as prescribed by your doctor
This can have an important effect on your health outcomes.
Always speak to your doctor before you stop taking a medicine.
If you have questions or concerns about your medicines, speak to your doctor or pharmacist.
Resources and support
The Heart Foundation has resources on blood pressure.
Dietitians Australia has a fact sheet about salt, ways to reduce salt intake, and when to see a dietitian.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines has information about the kinds of foods we need to eat for health and wellbeing.
The National Stroke Foundation has more information about blood pressure and stroke.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples
NACCHO, the Heart Foundation and NPS MedicineWise have information on high blood pressure for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
You can also call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria). A registered nurse is available to speak with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.