If you’re diagnosed with high blood pressure after a stroke, it may come as a shock. Many people with high blood pressure need to take long-term medication and make some healthy lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of another stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA or mini-stroke).
Lowering your blood pressure, even by a small amount, can help you stay healthy.
How can high blood pressure be reduced?
Making lifestyle changes
When you’re diagnosed with high blood pressure, you should be given advice about any lifestyle changes you need to make. Getting support can help you with things you may find hard. Ask your GP surgery or pharmacist about local support services.
Tips for staying healthy and reducing high blood pressure
- Reduce your salt intake. Our information on eating a healthy diet has tips.
- Get help with quitting smoking. Free help is available with quitting smoking. The NHS has information on how to access this.
- Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables as part of a balanced diet.
- Lose weight if you need to. We have information on staying a healthy weight.
- Reduce your alcohol intake and avoid binge drinking. We have tips for drinking less.
- Cut down on caffeine by drinking less coffee, tea and cola. Energy drinks can also have high levels of caffeine.
- Be more active.
- Reduce your stress levels and try to take time to relax.
The NHS has more information on how to live well and make healthy changes.
How is high blood pressure treated?
If you’re diagnosed with high blood pressure and your doctor thinks you are at risk of a stroke, they will recommend medication.
Whether you’re offered medication depends on your individual risk of a stroke. Things that increase your risk include a previous stroke, heart problems or diabetes.
Before starting medication, you will have blood and urine tests, and you may have an electrocardiogram (ECG) to check for heart problems.
If you are aged under 40 and you’re diagnosed with high blood pressure, you may be referred for checks to look for the causes of your high blood pressure.
Taking medication to lower blood pressure
High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, so you probably will not feel any different when you’re taking medication. But medication is highly effective at lowering your blood pressure and reducing your risk of a stroke.