High Blood Pressure: Commercial Driver Risk?

• Normal blood pressure should be around 110/70.
• The average American has a blood pressure of 120/80.
• If your blood pressure is between 120/80 and 140/90 you’re at risk for Hypertension.
• Drivers with  Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, or kidney disease require treatment if their blood pressure rises above 130/80, since they already have a high risk of heart disease.
• Stage 1 Hypertension is considered present when blood pressure is at 140/90.
• Stage 2 Hypertension is considered present when blood pressure is at 160/100.

High blood pressure symptoms that may occur include:

The #1 Secret To Reduce Blood Pressure

Move!

Movement improves blood flow and helps to reduce blood pressure.

Move any way you can, any time you can!

• Be conscious of sitting still for hours while you’re driving. Find ways to make even small movements in your feet, legs, hands, arms, shoulders and neck. The secret is in moving frequently.

• Find ways to be active outside the truck. Ten minute activity periods, four or five times a day will go a long way to reduce blood pressure and maintain your DOT medical card at two year intervals.
  • Some drivers have a dog, which is a great reason to get out of the truck and walk for a few minutes.
  • When loading or unloading seems to be taking too long, take that time to move, stretch, and walk.
  • Park at the far end of the rest stop, and walk the long way around, to get into the building.
  • Don’t always eat at the truck stop. Walk to a nearby restaurant to eat. Walk to a nearby grocery store and buy some healthy food to eat on the road.
  • Step in and out of your truck 10 times after stopping for a meal. Or walk around your truck 10 times. Every extra step helps!
  • Walk around the parking lot, up and down the rows, and find the nicest looking customized truck.

• Regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your heart. A healthy heart helps keep blood pressure low. Regular physical activity also helps control your weight and reduce stress. Any regular exercise like walking or biking, even 15 minutes a day will do wonders for your health.

10 Lifestyle Modifications To Reduce Blood Pressure Naturally

1. Eat a Wide Variety of Natural Foods. Variety means fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, grains, seeds, meat, fish, eggs, milk, honey. Eat food made from ingredients that you can recognize in their natural state.  Tip: Highly processed foods, even though they come in thousands of different varieties of forms and packaging, do not contain a wide variety of food. In fact, most processed food consist of a concoction of a few ingredients derived from corn, soy, and wheat, and a bunch of chemical additives.
2. Take Vitamins - Many vitamins have been shown to reduce hypertension but vitamins C, E, B5, B6 and folic acid, which is also a B vitamin have been the most effective. Apple cider vinegar includes vitamins C, A, E, B1, B2 and B6, in addition to potassium, magnesium, copper and many other helpful nutrients. We suggest mixing two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with 8 ounces of water and a bit of honey to make up for the taste!
3. Increase Calcium – This can be done by consuming low-fat dairy products or taking calcium supplements.
4. Increase Potassium - This can be done easily by consuming foods such as cauliflower, cabbage, oranges, grapefruit, melons, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables.
5. Increase Magnesium - Soy, beans, wheat germ, rice, nuts and bananas are a good source of magnesium.
6. Reduce Sodium - Keep in mind that reducing sodium intake involves more than not using a salt shaker, but also checking for the sodium content  in processed and prepared foods.  Rather than common table salt  which is sodium chloride, use a natural mineral salt.
7. Take Garlic - Garlic supplements work just as well as fresh garlic.
8. Drink Water - Drink 50% of your body weight in ounces of water daily, e.g. if you weigh 200 lbs, drink 100 oz of water daily.
9. Discontinuing Tobacco Use – Smoking can cause plaque and hardening of the artery walls.
10. Manage Stress - Every time you stress out, your blood pressure jumps up. If stress is a permanent part of your life it can constantly keep your blood pressure high. Relaxation techniques, deep breathing, and physical movement are all good ways to de-stress. Restful sleep also reduces stress and lowers blood pressure.

Bonus: Lose some of those extra pounds – If you do much of the above, and you reduce processed carbohydrates in your diet, these extra pounds should come off naturally.

These lifestyle modifications are highly effective to reduce blood pressure naturally, although medication is still necessary for many patients with moderate or severe hypertension to bring their blood pressure down to a safe level.

Blood Pressure Medications

It is very important, if you have hypertension, that you take the medications prescribed to you. See our tips to prepare for your DOT physical. If you have side effects, your health care provider can substitute a different medication.

There are many classes of medications for treating hypertension, together called antihypertensives, which — by varying means — act by lowering blood pressure.

Often, a single blood pressure drug may not be enough to control your blood pressure, and you may need to take two or more drugs. Each added drug may reduce the systolic blood pressure by 5–10 mmHg, so often multiple drugs are often necessary to achieve blood pressure control.

The aim of treatment should be to reduce blood pressure to lower than 140/90 mmHg for most patients, and lower than that in certain cases such as diabetes or kidney disease, where levels below 120/80 mmHg are recommended.

The goal of treatment is to reduce blood pressure so that you have a lower risk of complications. After the blood pressure goal is reached, you should continue to see your doctor every three to six months, depending on whether other diseases are present.

Check your blood pressure regularly! If you’re driving through Utah, stop by and visit us at Chiro Stop, in the Sapp Bros. truck stop in Salt Lake City. We’ll check your blood pressure for free.

Your Livelihood, Your Lifestyle, Your Life!

You may be concerned about your blood pressure because you’re concerned about your livelihood – that your CDL is at risk.

If that’s the case, then you should be concerned about your health too – that your life is at risk. Hypertension is an indication of more serious health issues ahead.

Commercial driving is a challenging lifestyle. Will it control the way you live, or will you manage the way you live, within its constraints? By knowing what the problems are, you can take action to make the outcome different. Begin with small changes. Treat the Lifestyle Modification List like a buffet. Choose one or two ideas from the list and try them out. If they fit for you, keep doing them, and then add another. In just a few weeks you’ll feel better, and in just a few months you’ll have won that bonus – dropping some of those extra pounds.

Make your next DOT physical exam easy. Keep your eye on the goal: a healthy blood pressure range. Your improved lifestyle will serve your livelihood and your life.