One of the serious health concerns is hypertension, or high blood pressure. It is known as a silent killer because it affects the heart and circulatory system without external symptoms. Unless you go for regular physical examinations, people with high or dangerously high blood pressure don't know that they have it.  Yet as dangerous as high blood pressure is, it is also very controllable.

Arteries carry blood from your heart to the rest of your body. If you put a crimp in an artery, pressure builds up inside it. High blood pressure (also called hypertension) occurs when blood moves through your arteries at a higher pressure than normal.  Both high blood pressure and prehypertension can damage your blood vessels. This increases your risk of stroke, kidney failure, heart disease and heart attack.

Blood pressure is two measurements, separated by a slash when written, such as 120/80. You may also hear someone say a blood pressure is "120 over 80."  The first number is the systolic blood pressure. This is the peak blood pressure when your heart is pushing squeezing blood out. The second is the diastolic blood pressure. It is the pressure when your heart is filling with blood.  When it relaxes between beats.

A normal blood pressure is less than 120/80. High blood pressure is 140/90 or higher. If your blood pressure is between 120/80 and 140/90, you have "prehypertension," which means that if you don’t take important steps, your blood pressure can turn into high blood pressure.

Certainly some are more prone to hypertension than others. The most important factor that contributes to the condition is diet. As the diet of the average person has gotten worse, more sugar, more processed foods, less vegetables and more salt, the incidence of hypertension has increased. Adding to this problem is the fact that those most at risk are usually people over forty with other conditions such as diabetes.

Anyone serious about lowering blood pressure to a normal range needs to first take an active role in modifying the diet. First and foremost is to become conscious of the amount of salt they take in. That includes table salt that they add to their food from the salt shaker as well as the salt already in the food. Most people have no idea that, due to their food choices, they can be consuming three or four times the recommended daily amount of sodium without adding one grain of salt from a shaker.

Frozen and canned foods should be entirely eliminated, especially for people in the dangerously high blood pressure camp. Instead diets should be more heavily focused on fresh vegetables and lean meats seasoned with other types of herbs and seasonings other than salt. Things like curry, chili powder (low or no salt versions), and lemon pepper can enhance the flavor of food without the need for salt. It will take time for the taste buds to be satisfied in a new low salt environment, but it will be worth it in the long run.

The benefit about these small but important adjustments is that you will, in most cases, see results very quickly. Severely reducing sodium and increasing higher quality foods will have a positive impact that will be evident in the next blood pressure reading that you get. To boost the benefits of a new diet, try walking or some other low impact regular exercise a few times a week.