Following these tips can help to reduce high blood pressure, or help to control it if you’ve already been diagnosed with the condition.

High blood pressure significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. High blood pressure is not usually something that you can feel or notice, and it can go undiagnosed because there are usually no symptoms. Regardless, high blood pressure can lead to kidney damage, stroke or a heart attack.

Therefore, it's important you get your blood pressure checked regularly. Check with your GP or nurse how often to get it checked.

1. Regular physical activity

Try to do some moderate-intensity activity every day and build up to at least 150 minutes per week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more.

• Read more about being active.
• Read why sitting too much could be bad for your health.

2. Keep to a healthy weight

For some people, losing weight is all they need to do to get their blood pressure down to a normal level.

• Read our dietitian's 8 secrets of long-term weight loss.

3. Eat a healthy balanced diet

Use the Eatwell plate to guide the proportions you include from each food group. In particular, include a variety of fruit and vegetables.

• Read about the best and worst foods for high blood pressure.
• Visit the Eatwell plate to check your proportions.

4. Cut down on salt

Don’t cook with salt or add any to your food at the table, and cut down on processed foods, which contain a lot of salt.

• Get more tips for reducing your salt intake.
• See our list of 7 surprisingly salty foods.

5. Don't drink too much

If you drink alcohol, stick within the recommended limits. No more than 3–4 units a day for men and no more than 2–3 for women.

6. Take your medicines as prescribed

Most people will need to take more than one type of medicine to control their blood pressure. Don’t stop taking your medication without consulting with your GP first.

Our February Wellbeing Focus is Heart Health - click here to learn more. Content sourced from the British Heart Foundation (bhf.org.uk).