Put simply you can reduce your blood pressure considerably by making no changes at all to your diet and eating and drinking as and much as you did previously whilst sitting around watching TV all day and getting very little exercise.

Hogwash! You didn’t believe that last sentence did you? But did you notice your reaction as you read it? A warm reassuring feeling perhaps that this condition needn’t inconvenience you all that much – well I‘m sorry but you’ve just met your first enemy – sloth. Yes resistance to change which increases as we get older ironically in line with our need to do so. You are going to have to accept that you are going to have to make some major lifestyle changes in diet and exercise regimes to get a grip on the dangerous condition you’ve fallen into. This will be doubly hard because, as you’ve probably no symptoms, all this privation and effort won’t make you feel immediately better. In the long run you’ll reap the benefits of better health and feeling healthier but in many cases making a decision abut what to eat, drink or do and it’s easy to waver and adopt the Manama mentality. This is where the fight begins, in the daily, hourly small decisions and changes.

Because we are not in pain or discomfort from Hypertension we may not consider the condition the killer that it is – this is why it’s called the silent assassin. Don’t take it very seriously indeed, resolve to act now.

In our fast paced society many of us are looking and even expecting quick fixes and magic bullets to cure medical conditions instantly. I’m sorry to tell you this but for Hypertension there are no quick fixes, no operation, procedure or medication that will cure you once and for all. There are lots of things we can do but high blood pressure is a lifelong condition and you will have to make permanent changes and stick at them for the rest of your life. I know that’s not what you did want to hear but those are the facts, you can either face them or bury your head in the sand, either way it’s your decision, wake up and face it.

So acceptance of and commitment to make lifelong lifestyle changes despite feeling maybe no apparent short term benefit are the main obstacles we face. But these are all of our own making and ones we have control over. The longest journey starts with a single step so resolve that the rest of your life (which we shall hope to extent and improve the quality of) start here n your own mind with this.