5 ways to reduce your risk of high blood pressure

5 ways to reduce your risk of high blood pressure

High blood pressure can put you at risk for serious health complications down the road. Here are five ways to keep it under control

By Lisa Bendall

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How high is your blood pressure?

When is the last time you checked your blood pressure? If you can’t remember, then now is a good time to have it tested. According to Statistics Canada, roughly 4.6 million Canadians aged 20 to 79 suffer from high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. The bad news? It doesn’t always come with tell-tale signs or symptoms, which makes it difficult to know if something’s not quite right. Left untreated, high blood pressure puts you at risk for health complications such as stroke andheart disease. "In health care, we want to go for one-hundred percent aware, controlled and treated," says Dr. Rick Ward, a Calgary family physician with the Canadian Hypertension Education Program.