Controlling high blood pressure is a life-long commitment to a healthy heart life-style. Exercise needs to be a core element of such a life-style. Studies have shown that sedentary lifestyles tend to elevate blood pressure, while regular exercise can reduce it. And that doesn’t mean you have to become a gym rat. Walking the dog, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, even vacuuming briskly can increase the blood flow from your heart and through blood vessels. Combine this with the DASH diet, trim skin and fat off your meat and broil foods rather than frying them. Limit your salt intake to 1500 mg per day. Say no to smoking and excessive drinking and you will be well on your way to a revitalised cardiovascular system!