5 Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure: A Primer on Hypertension

Mike Sonneveldt serves as the Senior Health Editor at Prescription Hope, where he leads the content writing division. A graduate of Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature, Mike brings nearly 20 years of writing experience to the team.
Home | Blog | Health and Wellness | 5 Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure: A Primer on Hypertension
Updated on May 18, 2026

 

High blood pressure is known as the “silent killer,” and for a good reason. Unfortunately, high blood pressure (also known as hypertension) often carries little to no symptoms, giving a person few signs that there might be an issue. As the condition progresses, serious health problems can occur, yet those complications may seem unrelated to the issue of hypertension. Unfortunately, plenty of Americans do not realize how much they need high blood pressure management.

The CDC reports that in 2021, hypertension was a primary or contributing cause of 691,095 deaths in the United States. Almost 120 million Americans have hypertension, and only about 27 million of those Americans have their hypertension under control with high blood pressure management, let alone with affordable hypertension medication.

The Journal of the American Heart Association concludes that Americans spend 131 billion dollars every year on healthcare costs associated with hypertension. This includes those with hypertension spending nearly triple on prescription medications when compared to those without hypertension. Knowing this, millions of Americans are searching for prescription assistance for hypertension or affordable medication for hypertension.

While dealing with high medical costs can be frustrating, and getting check-ups may be difficult to fit into our busy lives, a regular blood pressure test can be the difference between life and death for older adults. Your doctor can provide regular blood pressure tests and help you formulate a plan on how to best deal with hypertension should you have it. And even though it can be a serious matter, a few changes in approach and lifestyle can create drastic differences. Couple this with an affordable blood pressure management medication such as Enalapril offered through Prescription Hope and you can keep your blood pressure at a healthy range.

 

What is High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects the force or pressure of blood being pumped through your arteries. Arteries are the highways in our body for blood carrying oxygen to other parts of the body. Your blood pressure reading is the amount of pressure, or force on the walls of the arteries as blood is pumped by the heart. When you have high blood pressure, the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries is too great, and over time can cause serious damage.

 

What Do Blood Pressure Numbers Mean?

Managing high blood pressure means knowing and understanding your numbers. Blood pressure numbers are measured with two separate numbers: systolic and diastolic. Systolic is the first number measured in a blood pressure reading, and it is the measurement of the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats.

The second number, diastolic, measures the resting pressure of blood in your arteries between heartbeats.

The two numbers are combined in a single reading, often stated as, “120 over 80,” or written as “120/80 mm Hg.”

A normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 and is considered healthy by doctors. A person who is considered “at risk” has a systolic level between 120-139 mm Hg and a diastolic from 80-89 mm Hg. Any systolic reading over 140 mm Hg paired with a diastolic reading at 90 mm Hg or above is diagnosed as hypertension.

Your blood pressure can change throughout the day based on your activities and stress levels, meaning you may benefit from regular blood pressure testing in order to determine whether you are consistently above normal results. If so, you may be diagnosed with prehypertension or hypertension.

 

Problems of High Blood Pressure

A day or two of higher than normal blood pressure readings is not necessarily a cause for concern. Stress, lack of sleep, poor diet and caffeine can all affect a blood pressure reading. However, over the course of time, a consistently high blood pressure can do extensive damage to the body.

Having hypertension can lead to major damage to important organs like your brain, heart, kidneys and even your eyes.

Your arteries become less elastic, resulting in a decreased flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. This leads to an increased risk for heart disease, and can also lead to heart attacks and heart failure.

Not only do the arteries flowing to your heart suffer from prolonged hypertension, but the arteries supplying blood and oxygen to the brain can eventually become blocked or even burst, causing a stroke. And even if a stroke does not occur, hypertension has been linked to impaired cognitive function and dementia.

 

How To Lower High Blood Pressure

Natural supplements can be useful in lowering blood pressure. Some supps include:

Lowering your blood pressure does not have to be a complex and difficult process. Plenty of Americans find that a few changes to their daily habits can bring about massive changes for their blood pressure numbers. Some things to focus on might include:

1)Exercise:

Your weight can have a drastic effect on your blood pressure, whether directly on your arteries and heart, or indirectly through conditions such as sleep apnea and breathing difficulties.

However, solutions do exist and can be easy to implement. Harvard states that in general, blood pressure may go down about 1 mm Hg for every pound lost for those who are overweight. Mayo Clinic reports that men are at a much higher risk of hypertension with a waist size greater than 40 inches, while women are at greater risk when their waist size is greater than 35 inches.

This means that every pound lost and every inch in reduction helps reduce the stress placed on your circulatory system and can aid in lowering blood pressure naturally. Getting daily exercise can make the difference for someone working to get control over their hypertension, and provides plentiful benefits beyond lowering blood pressure.

A recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week can aid a person in benefiting in improved health, mood and energy, as well as helping them achieve a healthy body weight.

2)Diet:

Shifting away from foods high in salt, saturated fat, and sugar can be quite helpful with lowering a person’s blood pressure. Those with hypertension should instead focus on eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains and lean proteins, while limiting red meat, sodium and sugar-sweetened foods and drinks.

Along with focusing on healthy, unprocessed, and natural foods, those with hypertension should be aware of how much sodium they are taking in on a daily basis. While the recommended amount is 2,000 mg of salt per day, many Americans eat far and above the recommended daily amount. After all, 70% of our salt intake comes from processed foods and eating out. Combining lots of sodium with meals high in other problematic ingredients such as saturated fat and sugar creates a dangerous diet.

Changing behaviors such as how often we eat processed meals or go out to restaurants can be the difference between hypertension and normal blood pressure levels.

3)Lower Stress

All of us have stress. And plenty of us see no escape from the daily grind of life. We tend to feel as though high stress is just a normal part of life. But the truth is, managing stress is vital to remaining healthy.

Stress can do considerable damage to the body over a long period of time. It can lead to chronic inflammation which damages artery walls, as well as trigger hormones that raise blood pressure.

Taking control over your stress will not only lower blood pressure levels, but can improve mood, sleep, energy and enjoyment of life.

Take time to manage stress by praying, meditating, practicing relaxation breathing techniques, getting enough sleep, and setting aside time each day to do something you want to do…not what you have to do. Make it a priority to balance your life in a healthy way, and you will see positive results quickly.

4)Take Some Supplements

Natural supplements can be useful in lowering blood pressure. Some supplements include:

Fish oil: 123

Protein: 123

Aged Garlic Extract: 234

5)Medication

One of the most successful ways to manage blood pressure levels is by taking medication. Take some time and meet with your doctor to determine what medication works best, and then take it as prescribed. Your doctor may prescribe you drugs such as Ozempic, Trulicity, and Jardiancein order to control your blood pressure, but your doctor may also request that you implement one or more of the other methods we have listed here. Plenty of high blood pressure management drugs exist, and hypertension medication can be beneficial in the fight against high blood pressure.

But What About The Cost?

Costs of dealing with blood pressure can be difficult, but do not need to break your bank account. You can lower your overall medical costs by improving your health, and you will feel better doing it! But if you need affordable hypertension medication, we can help you ease the financial burden. At Prescription Hope, we are dedicated to helping you get the medical affordability for hypertension you need at one low monthly price per medication. For $70.00 a month through Prescription Hope’s medication access service per prescription, you can have peace of mind about your prescription medication budget

 

Prescription Hope

Prescription Hope is dedicated to helping those across the nation with hypertension get their prescription assistance for hypertension and other affordable medications they need at a reasonable monthly rate per medication. After all, low-cost drugs should be the norm for Americans, not the exception.

When your doctor helps you determine the right high blood pressure medication regimen, simply go to our website and become familiar with our services. Then, fill out our online enrollment form. After your enrollment form is submitted, Prescription Hope will determine based on the information provided whether we can pre-qualify you.

Once you are qualified and all of the requested paperwork is received from you and your healthcare provider, your first order of medication is typically delivered within 2-4 weeks. Plus, once you are approved and signed-up, we manage your order refills!

Your medications are typically delivered in a 90-days supply, directly to your home or healthcare provider’s office, depending on the requirements of the pharmaceutical company that ships your medication.

We desire for every member across America to live without the stress and worry of paying too much for their high blood pressure management or other prescriptions. No one should have to make the choice between their medication or bills.

We provide a simple, consistent monthly rate of $70.00 per medication for over 1,500 medications. This means that not just people with hypertension can benefit from what we offer.

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and are looking to get low-cost medications, then please visit us at www.PrescriptionHope.com to learn more about how we can save you money every month!

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