A key factor in preventing hypertension is regular testing of your blood pressure. Because high blood pressure presents few symptoms, many people don't realize they have a problem until their pressure has already reached critical levels. Talk with your health care professional, ask what your blood pressure numbers are and find out what they mean.
If you need medication, make sure you understand what it’s for and how and when to take it, then take it as your doctor recommends.

If your blood pressure is normal or even pre-hypertensive, there are steps you can take to keep it from rising.

• Lose weight if you are overweight and maintain a healthy weight. Limit portion sizes, especially of high calorie foods, and try to eat only as many calories as you burn each day— or less if you want to lose weight.
• Eat heart healthfully. Follow an eating plan that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and lowfat dairy products and is moderate in total fat and low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
• Reduce salt and sodium intake. Read food labels to choose canned, processed, and convenience foods that are lower in sodium. Limit sodium intake to no more than 2,400 mg, or about 1 teaspoon’s worth, of salt each day. Avoid fast foods that are high in salt and sodium.
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation. For men, that means a maximum of 2 drinks a day, for women, a maximum of 1.
• Become more physically active. Work up to at least 30 minutes of a moderate-level activity, such as brisk walking or bicycling, each day. If you don’t have 30 minutes, try to find two 15-minute periods or even three 10-minute periods for physical activity.
• Quit smoking. Smoking increases your chances of developing a stroke, heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, and several forms of cancer.