Introduction
In rare cases, only the diastolic value of blood pressure may be too high. This so-called “isolated diastolic hypertension” affects almost exclusively younger or middle-aged patients. Affected patients often measure blood pressure values of 135/100, but as the disease progresses, the systolic value usually increases, making therapy unavoidable.
Therapy of increased diastole
Nowadays, the indication, i.e. the necessity of a therapy, is not only determined by the level of blood pressure, but rather by the overall risk of cardiovascular diseases (heart attack, stroke, heart failure, etc.). This risk is particularly high, for example, in the presence of very high blood pressure values (>180/110 mmHg) and/or already existing clinical pictures of the cardiovascular system. In these cases, drug therapy is absolutely necessary.
If only the diastolic pressure is elevated, general measures can possibly bring about a sufficient reduction in diastole:Overweight patients should strive to reduce their weight. The “Body Mass Index” (BMI) can serve as a rough guide. It is calculated using the formula BMI = body weight (kg)(height [m])2 and should be approx.
25 kg/m2. If you suffer from high blood pressure and want to reduce your diastole, you should avoid high-salt foods and do not add salt to foods. Instead, it is recommended to use special dietary salt.
A lot of fruit, vegetables, salad, nuts and as little animal fats as possible also have a beneficial effect on diastole. Generally speaking, a person needs salt to be able to perform certain body functions properly. However, most people, especially in Germany, tend to have an increased salt intake that far exceeds the daily requirement.
In the opinion of many doctors, salt contributes to increased blood pressure. In studies it could be shown that especially patients with high blood pressure can react with an increase in blood pressure. But there were also a number of patients who did not show an increase.
The general recommendation of the medical profession consists nevertheless in a salt-reduced nourishing form with blood high pressure patients, since in further studies could be proven that it can contribute to a mild form of the blood pressure lowering in particular the diastolic value, to a mild form of the blood pressure lowering. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption promote the development of high blood pressure. You should therefore stop smoking and consume as little alcohol as possible.
Coffee consumption can also have negative effects on the diastolic blood pressure value. Relaxation training and stress avoidance are also helpful. Regular endurance training (5-7/week for at least 30 minutes), such as swimming, walking or running, considerably reduces the risk of heart attack and can have a decisive effect on lowering diastolic blood pressure. In principle, already by fully exhausting the measures mentioned about 25% of the cases, slightly increased blood pressure values (in particular the Diastole) can be lowered.
