Whatever your age, you can take steps each day to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.

You can help prevent high blood pressure—also called hypertension—by making healthy choices and managing other health conditions you may have.

The CDC has these specific steps that one can take to affect the health of Americans.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Choose healthy meal and snack options to help you avoid high blood pressure and its complications. Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Talk with your health care team about eating a variety of foods rich in potassium, fiber, and protein and lower in salt (sodium) and saturated fat. For many people, making these healthy changes can help keep blood pressure low and protect against heart disease and stroke.

Keep Yourself at a Healthy Weight

Being overweight can increase your risk of high blood pressure. To determine whether your weight is in a healthy range, doctors often calculate your body mass index (BMI). If you know your weight and height, you can calculate your BMI at CDC’s Assessing Your Weight website. Doctors sometimes also use waist and hip measurements to assess body fat.

Talk with your health care team about ways to reach a healthy weight, including choosing healthy foods and getting regular physical activity.

Limit How Much Alcohol You Drink

Do not drink too much alcohol, which can raise your blood pressure. Men should have only 2 alcoholic drinks per day, and women should have only 1 alcoholic drink per day. Visit the CDC’s Alcohol and Public Health website for more information.

Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep is important to your overall health, and enough sleep is part of keeping your heart and blood vessels healthy. Not getting enough sleep regularly is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.2 Visit CDC’s Sleep and Sleep Disorders website for resources on how to get better sleep.

More tips can be found HERE!

Want more tips on how to be healthier this month to ensure a healthier heart?

Join Nik Sweeney, Author, Mompreneur,  National Board Certified Health Coach, & Liletta Harlem, Author, Self Relationship Coach for an Instagram Live session Wednesday at 12:00pm EST, February 2nd to discuss tips on being heart healthy, especially as a hard working entrepreneur.