The Best Way to Measure and Manage Your Blood Pressure

In partnership with ​Function Health

Today's newsletter at a glance:

• The Most Modifiable Risk Factors for Heart Disease

• The Proper Way to Measure Your Blood Pressure

• Proven Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure

Statistically, 19 million lives are taken per year from heart disease.

It's an unsettling thought.

One of the main reasons I started this newsletter and began posting content is to raise awareness and share tactics to reduce the risk of this happening.

To offer you tools to be proactive rather than reactive before a problem arises.

In today's newsletter, we are going to cover the most modifiable risk factors for heart disease: hypertension or high blood pressure.

The Proper Way to Measure Your Blood Pressure

​50% of adults in the US​ have high blood pressure, and most aren't even aware!

Low-to-moderately elevated blood pressure is typically asymptomatic and is often referred to as the silent killer.

However, monthly, I'm called into the emergency room to treat patients in a hypertensive crisis.

Getting your blood pressure measured at your annual check-up with your primary care physician is essential and certainly better than nothing, but it comes with its own set of problems.

1. White Coat Syndrome: Many people don't enjoy going to the doctor and may become anxious the moment they walk in the door. This can artificially elevate your blood pressure reading, or worse, true elevated blood pressure can be blamed on anxiety in the doctor's office.

2. Limited Data: it's a single reading, a single data point. You aren't defined, for better or worse, by one reading.

I strongly encourage everyone, if you aren't already, to measure your blood pressure at home multiple times and find your average.

You can purchase an automatic blood pressure cuff on ​Amazon for less than $30 (make sure it's a bicep cuff, not a wrist cuff).

For 7-10 days, measure your blood pressure in the morning and evening, following this protocol:

1. Don't exercise, drink coffee, or smoke 30 minutes before taking your reading. Empty your bladder before taking your blood pressure.

2. Sit comfortably with your back supported by the chair, quietly for 10-15 minutes before measuring.

3. Your feet should be on the ground and uncrossed.

4. Rest your arm comfortably on a table at heart level.

5. Secure the blood pressure cuff around your bare arm (not over clothing) about an inch above your elbow. The cuff should be snug enough to fit a finger.

6. Take your blood pressure.

7. Repeat two more times and average your readings.

Optimal blood pressure is less than 120/80mm Hg.

The rationale for this optimal blood pressure threshold is that cumulative exposure to blood pressure above it is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Proven Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure

What can you do if your blood pressure is above this optimal number?

The good news: blood pressure can be lowered significantly with lifestyle modifications.

The two most significant interventions: weight loss and exercise.

For each kilogram of weight loss (2.2 pounds) is associated with a reduction of 1 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure.

Getting to a healthy weight can drastically reduce your blood pressure and lower your risk for cardiovascular disease.

Maintaining a caloric deficit and prioritizing a whole foods diet rich in fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean meats can move the needle in your favor.

Furthermore, exercise—particularly aerobic exercise—is a highly effective lifestyle modification for reducing high blood pressure.

An average reduction in systolic blood pressure of 4–8 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure of 3–4 mm Hg for 90–150 minutes per week at 65–75% of maximal heart rate.

Regular aerobic exercise leads to ​improved endothelial function, increased nitric oxide bioavailability, reduced sympathetic nervous system activity, and favorable structural changes in the vasculature.​

These changes decrease vascular resistance and facilitate lower resting blood pressure, independent of significant changes in weight loss.

Lifestyle interventions can help reduce and maintain healthy blood pressure for many; however, medication may be appropriate for some individuals as well.

I want to make it very clear that using medications to get your blood pressure to a healthy range is not a failure.

Commonly, lifestyle and pharmaceutical interventions are utilized in tandem to lower your risk for heart disease.

There are multiple low-risk medication options that can help you reach the optimal blood pressure threshold.

*Make sure you are consulting with your qualified healthcare professional before starting, stopping, or changing any medications.

If You Don't Test, You Don't Know

True health ownership starts with knowledge.

Understanding which biomarkers are in range or, more importantly, out of range will help you personalize and create your own instruction manual.

​Function Health​ is an all-in-one health platform that starts with 100+ lab tests, including your heart, hormones, liver, kidneys, thyroid, autoimmunity, cancer signals, toxins, and overall nutrients.

Function provides five times more bloodwork testing than standard primary care labs, which would cost you thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Function makes scheduling at 2,000 locations across the USA convenient and straightforward, with lab visits averaging only 15 minutes.

Once your results are in, you will receive a comprehensive summary written by Function's Clinical Team. Clinicians call you promptly if any urgent results arise.

After seeing your biomarkers and Function's insightful recommendations, you will have the confidence to take action and retest in the future to track your progress.

Join hundreds of thousands, including me, who use Function to take control of their health. ​Click here to get a $100 credit when you sign up for Function.

Only the best,

Jeremy London, MD

P.S. Don't forget to follow my podcast for free on ​Spotify​ or ​Apple Podcasts​