How important is my Lifestyle?
It matters greatly for whether you have a heart attack or a stroke.
Let us give you an example of what impact it will have on your health if you change your lifestyle.
If your blood pressure is 155/95, you smoke, are overweight and your cholesterol in the blood is too high – then your risk of having a blood clot during the next 10 years is more than 30%. If you stop smoking, lose weight and lower your cholesterol – well then your risk is less than 10%. This means that your risk is significantly lowered – actually three times lower – without taking any medication.
Unfortunately a change in lifestyle is rarely enough for you with too high blood pressure. Most people with too high blood pressure have to both change their lifestyle and take medication. This is because it – even for the most adamant and strong-willed – is hard to lower the blood pressure sufficiently by solely changing lifestyle. But in total, the change in lifestyle has at least as great significance for your health as the medication you take.