Practical Blood Pressure Advice, Too Often Shelved for Convenience

Gonzalo Garcia has his blood pressure checked at the CAC-Florida medical

A low-salt, heart-healthy diet is staging a comeback as some 60-plus drugs fail to rein in rising hypertension rates.

As many as half of the 70 million Americans with hypertension are sensitive to salt, versus 10 percent of Americans in general.

When combined with the right diet, cutting back on salt can lower blood pressure as well as any single hypertension pill.

Older, cheaper drugs for high blood pressure may work just as well as, or better than, new and expensive ones.

It tastes bland and can be a tough daily regimen to follow, so it’s not the ideal medicine for high blood pressure. But a low-salt, heart-healthy diet is staging a comeback as some 60-plus drugs fail to rein in staggering rates of hypertension in the United States.