Did you know that one in four Americans has high blood pressure? How can you optimize your chances of having great blood pressure numbers? Are there any natural remedies that have been shown to help blood pressure?

May is High Blood Pressure Awareness Month, so here’s some good, basic information about blood pressure:

• High blood pressure, or hypertension, is defined as a systolic pressure of 140 or higher or a diastolic pressure of 90 or higher. But a systolic pressure of 140 is not considered ideal anymore; an optimal systolic blood pressure is less than 120, and 120 to 140 is now considered pre-hypertension.

• Your first step in blood pressure control is lifestyle management. This includes eating healthfully, exercising regularly and keeping your weight in the normal range. It also includes avoiding smoking, excessive caffeine and alcohol. Most people with persistent high blood pressure will be placed on antihypertensive meds by their physician. This is because prolonged elevated blood pressure can lead to damage of major organs of the body including the eyes, kidneys, brain and the heart.

From a holistic perspective, there are some recent findings that you may want to know about blood pressure:

• Wedded bliss equals lower blood pressure. A study published in the March 20 issue of the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine showed that people who were happily married have lower blood pressure than unhappy married people or singles.

This study of more than 300 adults found that those who were happily married had a blood pressure that was four points lower than single adults.

Interestingly, those who were unhappy in their marriage had higher blood pressure than both happily married and single adults.

• Music calms the savage breast – and decreases blood pressure. So go ahead and turn up the radio dial it’s good for your health!

A new study presented this month at the American Society of Hypertension’s annual meeting in New Orleans showed that listening to music while breathing deeply reduced blood pressure by a modest amount. This study involved almost 50 adults who had hypertension and were divided into two groups those who listened to music while breathing deeply,and those who didn’t. Twenty-eight people were in the music group and listened to classical, Celtic or Indian raga music. This group had a lower blood pressure than the group of 20 that did deep breathing in the absence of music.

• Some supplements may help your blood pressure numbers. Fish oil, folic acid, hawthorn, coenzyme Q10 and garlic have all been shown in studies to have a modest effect in improving blood pressure readings.

• Avoid herbs and supplements that may be harmful to your blood pressure. Herbs that have been found or suspected to cause high blood pressure include licorice, ephedra, Asian ginseng and rosemary essential oil. Street drugs like heroin and cocaine can markedly elevate the blood pressure. And common over-the-counter appetite suppressants can also escalate blood pressure.

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(Drs. Kay Judge and Maxine Barish-Wreden are medical directors of Sutter Downtown Integrative Medicine program in Sacramento, Calif. Have a question related to alternative medicine? E-mail adrenalinesacbee.com.)

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(c) 2008, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.).

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AP-NY-05-30-08 0823EDT