High blood pressure is something that a lot of truckers fall victim too, however, your job depends on you maintaining a normal blood pressure level. If your blood pressure is over 140/90 during your Department of Transportation (DOT) physical (which you should have once every two years), you will have to go through quite a bit of work to maintain a valid CDL driver. No one wants to be put out of business for a medical condition that can be treated. You basically have two options to lowering your blood pressure so you can stay on the road: take medication or make necessary lifestyle changes.
Medication
Depending on the severity of your high blood pressure, your doctor may want to prescribe medication to get your blood pressure down. There are quite a few options of medication you can take, so it’s important for you and your doctor to be really thorough to find the right drug and dosage for you.
Lifestyle Changes
Improving your lifestyle is a great way to naturally lower your blood pressure. Even if your doctor has prescribed medication to manage your blood pressure, you should consider doing double duty for your body by leading a more healthy lifestyle. Here is the Mayo Clinic’s advice for naturally lowering your blood pressure:
- Don’t smoke
- Eat a healthy diet, focusing on fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, and especially, control the salt in your diet
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Exercise by getting 30 minutes of moderate activity — even if you need to break up your activity into three 10-minute sessions — on most days of the week
- Limit the amount of alcohol you drink — For healthy adults, that means up to one drink a day for women of all ages and men older than age 65, and up to two drinks a day for men age 65 and younger.
Not only will the lifestyle changes above improve your blood pressure, but will ripple into your overall health as well and leave you feeling better than before.
At the end of the day, taking medication, making a lifestyle change or combination of both options, the important thing is that you do something to manage your blood pressure. If left on treated, not only could you be out of a job, but there are health consequences you could suffer from – such as a heart attack, stroke or artery damage – that could take your life. So take our advice and proactive in
At North Dixie Truck and Trailer, Inc., we believe in helping truck drivers in every way possible. Whether it is our Emergency pick up (1-800-440-9523), our parts department (419-222-8785) or our maintenance crew (419-221-3750), for all your needs, think NDI.