Tips to Fight High Blood Pressure – Even With a Family History  

Dealing with hereditary conditions is always a physical and an emotional challenge. A family history of high blood pressure (HBP) can seem more like a sentence than a possibility. The truth is, however, that it is NOT a sentence and you can start working now to ensure that you and your children live a long, HPB-free life.

Don't Run From It: Assess Your History
The most important step is to make a clear-eyed assessment of your family history of high blood pressure.

A family history of high blood pressure is defined as having 1 or more blood relatives under the age of 60 with the disorder. This history alone puts you and your children at two times the risk of developing it as well. A strong family history (having 3 or more blood relatives with HBP) pushes that even higher.

It may be a good idea to grab a piece of paper and assess how strong your family history of HBP is. You might be surprised to find it's weaker – or stronger – than you thought. Either way, documenting the information will put it into critical perspective.

Develop Wholesome Family Eating Habits
Developing good home eating habits can be difficult both on your time and your budget, but if there wasn't enough reason to do it before, avoiding premature HBP for you and family is the perfect motivation.

Diets low in saturated fats and high in potassium-rich foods, such as potatoes, bananas, mushrooms, avocados, and yogurt, can not only reduce a person's chance of developing HPB, but can also be used as a management tool for those already dealing with the condition.

Get the Family Clan Into Sports!
Get your children – and yourself – on an exercise plan. This may be easier for your children than yourself. Schools and communities are full of sports leagues for children. Perhaps all it takes is signing your child up and delivering the occasional car ride for your child's friends.

What may surprise some people is that there are community sports leagues for adults as well! So if jogging a grueling 30 minutes on the treadmill is too tedious, sign yourself for a couple teams and get the most fun for your sweat!

Avoid Smoking & Excess Alcohol
It's old news – smoking and excess alcohol are bad for you. But what you might not know is that smoking or inhaling second-hand smoke temporarily narrows a person's arteries, causing a spike in blood pressure. Habitual use of large quantities of alcohol also aggravates HBP, and such a risk for someone with a hereditary predisposition could have disastrous effects.

Visit Your Doctor Regularly
While all of the above tips are safe, natural ways to control your family's likelihood of developing HBP, the only way to be 100% sure of your family's health is to get regular checkups with your pediatrician or general practitioner. Speak with your doctor about your family history (you can even show him/her your documentation) and make sure to have your whole family checked at every doctor visit. Your doctor can decide if your family risk factors warrant extra check-ups or simply a close eye on the blood pressure results on regular visits.

Regular exams will also be useful to gauge the success of your family's fight against HBP. You can't make progress if you don't have a benchmark to be sure to be checked today!

About the Author
Glenn Randolph is a freelance writer and entrepreneur from Los Angeles, CA. He has written for a wealth of high-profile clients including the Livestrong Network, Demand Media, and Baron Medical . In his spare time, he enjoys physical fitness, surfing and snowboarding.