6 essential tips for new blood pressure guidelines

Almost half of us, adults have high blood pressure, the risk factor prevented more obvious from heart disease, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease and even dementia.

For the first time since 2017, the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology have recently updated their directives to help people with hypertension to reduce their number.

“The 2025 updates represent a new accumulation of evidence that gives people better opportunities for a longer and healthier life,” said Daniel W. Jones, MD, Dean and Professor Emeritus of the Medical School of Medical Center at the University of Mississippi and President of the Directive Editorial Committee.

Blood pressure measures remain the same

Normal, high and high blood pressure levels – have been measured using a blood pressure brassard device – remain identical:

• Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm Hg
• High blood pressure is 120-129 / 80 mm Hg
• High blood pressure is 130/80 mm hg or more

For people with high blood pressure, here are six main dishes to retain new guidelines:

1. Take advantage of drugs earlier

The new guidelines advise doctors to prescribe drugs for patients with high blood pressure earlier, especially if three to six months of lifestyle changes do not reduce their number.

A key reason for rapid action, said Jones, is that new research has confirmed that high blood pressure is also a cognitive decline factor.

But even if you start to take hypertension medication, your doctor will always encourage healthy habits such as regular exercise and a balanced diet, said Scott Jerome, MD, director of ambulatory services and awareness of cardiovascular medicine at the medical school of the University of Maryland.

2. Lower your salt consumption again

Like the old directives, the update always calls for the limitation of sodium to less than 2,300 mg per day (about a teaspoon of salt) and to a goal of no more than 1,500 mg per day.

AHA advises to check food labels because we, adults, get most of their sodium in packaged foods and restaurants. Many restaurant channels also list the sodium content online, and in dinner restaurants, you can ask if they can limit salt or serve sauces on the side.

When cooking at home, try salt substitutes with potassium and add more foods rich in potassium such as bananas, spinach, mushrooms and honeydew melon.

3. Try to leave or limit alcohol

The new guidelines advise to abstain from alcohol. For those who drink, the advice is not to have more than two glasses per day for men and no more than one glass per day for women.

A review in 2023 of seven studies in Hypertension have found that each additional alcoholic drink can increase blood pressure over the years, even in people without high blood pressure.

4. Manage stress

Stress is linked to heart disease. The guidelines advise the exercise and integration of stress reduction techniques such as yoga, deep breathing and meditation.

Like the 2017 guidelines, the update always recommends 75 to 150 minutes of weekly exercise, including aerobic activities such as fast walking and strength training with groups or weights.

5. Lose at least 5% of body weight

The new guidelines recommend losing at least 5% of body weight in adults who have overweight or obesity. Talk to your doctor about diet changes, injectable weight loss drugs such as Wegovy or Zepbound, or weight loss surgery.

6. Adopt the Dash diet

The 2025 guidelines continue to advise a healthy diet, in particular the DASH diet, which focuses on less salt and more products, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, dairy products, poultry and low or fat -free fish.

Know your hypertension number

Knowing your number of blood pressure is essential to benefit from these updated directives, but too many people do not know, said Allen Taylor, MD, president of cardiology at the Medstar Heart and Vascular Institute in Washington, DC.

Taylor recommends having a head pressure at home, sharing your figures during your visits to the doctor and reporting any change to see if additional adjustments – lifestyle and medicine – are required.