The definitive, ten-step lifestyle plan for lowering blood pressure quickly and naturally, from a renowned expert in cardiovascular disease prevention If you have high blood pressure, you’re not alone: nearly a third of adult Americans—over a hundred million people—have been diagnosed with hypertension, and another quarter are well on their way. Yet a whopping 56 percent of diagnosed patients do not have it under control. The good news? Hypertension is easily treatable (and preventable), and you can take action today to bring your blood pressure down in just four weeks—without the potential dangers and side effects of prescription medications. In Blood Pressure Down, Janet Bond Brill distills what she’s learned over decades of helping her patients lower their blood pressure, as well as the DASH diet principles and much more, into a ten-step lifestyle plan that’s manageable for anyone. You’ll discover how to: • harness the power of blood pressure power foods like bananas, spinach, and yogurt • start a simple regimen of exercise and stress reduction • stay on track with checklists, meal plans, and more than fifty simple recipes Easy, effective, safe—and delicious— Blood Pressure Down is the encouraging resource that empowers you, or your loved ones, to lower your blood pressure and live a longer, heart-healthy life. Given that nearly a third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, the audience for this sensible, just-do-it book should be a large one. Certainly, Brill knows what she is talking about professionally. She is a registered dietitian, exercise physiologist, and wellness coach who also knows her stuff personally, since her father had his first heart attack at age 45, and her brother died of kidney failure brought on by complications of high blood pressure at age 56. Brill does a good job of explaining that hypertension is a silent killer that hurts blood vessels without pain or symptoms and then causes huge problems, such as stroke, kidney failure, and heart attacks. Brill’s 10 steps aren’t earthshaking (“lose five pounds,” “eat bananas,” “eat yogurt,” “exercise”). But they’re doable. Helpful charts show “power foods,” including magnesium-rich cocoa powder, and 50 recipes include useful nutritional information. Overall, anyone who wants to try nondrug approaches to lowering blood pressure can find much useful, potentially lifesaving information in this guide book. --Karen Springen “Brill does a good job of explaining that hypertension is a silent killer that hurts blood vessels without pain or symptoms and then causes huge problems, such as stroke, kidney failure, and heart attacks. . . . Overall, anyone who wants to try nondrug approaches to lowering blood pressure can find much useful, potentially lifesaving information in this guide book.” — Booklist “A detailed, well researched book for anyone serious about lowering his or her blood pressure.” — Examiner “The brilliant Dr. Brill has a knack for making cardiac disease simple to understand and conquer. . . . This book is the ideal tool to supplement a doctor's visit to effectively lower a patient’s blood pressure with or without medications. This book is so comprehensive—it gives guidance on how to monitor one's blood pressure at home, reminds people about stroke symptoms, what type of exercise works best and of course the foods that can lower blood pressure. The recipes at the end of the book emphasize how delicious a heart healthy diet can be.” — Annabelle S. Volgman, MD, FACC, professor of Medicine, Rush College of Medicine Medical Director, Rush Heart Center for Women “A simple, holistic, and achievable 10-step plan that is highly effective in reaching the ideal blood pressure in 4 weeks. Maintaining optimal blood pressure is critical in preventing heart disease and stroke.” — Jennifer H. Mieres, MD, FACC, FASNC, FAHA, professor of Cardiology & Population Health, Hofstra North Shore - LIJ School of Medicine JANET BRILL, PhD., RD, LDN, is a nationally recognized expert in cardiovascular disease prevention and the author of Cholesterol Down and Prevent a Second Heart Attack , and she has been a nutritionist in private practice for many years. Chapter 1 Understanding the Problem The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human body, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease. —­Thomas Alva Edison LOOSENING THE GRIP OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE Why do so many people in this country have high blood pressure? What triggers the squeeze on the arteries that puts you at grave risk for heart disease and stroke, the ­first-­ and ­third-­leading causes of death in the United States? We used to think that high blood pressure was an inevitable consequence of aging. But in recent decades, research has revealed a surprising truth: high blood pressure ­doesn’t have to be a ­by-­product of getting older. It is a ­lifestyle-­borne illnessthat is more related t