Q. How should I control my BP in winter?

Answered by

and medically reviewed by iCliniq medical review team.

Published on Dec 17, 2016 and last reviewed on: Oct 09, 2018

Patient's Query

Hi doctor,

I am a 35 year old male. In winter, My BP increases to around 160/105 mmHg; however, in summer, it is normal at 130/90 mmHg. I do not feel any problems yet such as headache. Now, I feel some shortness of breath. How should I control my BP in winter season? I have already started taking less salt and eating raw garlic in the morning. I have not taken any medicines, yet to control BP. I do not want to start any regular medicines at this age. In my family, my mother also has high BP. Please tell me some ways to cure or control my BP. Here are my details. Height - 5 feet 9 inches, weight - 69 kg, body fat - normal, BMI - normal, kidney function test - normal and ECG - normal. My lipid profile is on the higher side, but not very high. Only HDL and LDL are out of range. HDL - 34 mg/dL and LDL - 114 mg/dL. All other things are in the range, but on the higher side.

Answer

Dr. Naresh Kumar Monigari

General Medicine Internal Medicine

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I had gone through all the details posted.

Kindly confirm whether your blood pressure is raised during winter by repeated BP recordings. Before BP recording you should not take any hit beverage, smoking and be calm.

If you have any doubt, then go for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring as they can confirm whether you have hypertension or not.

Once if you are diagnosed as HTN (hypertension - high blood pressure), then first is the therapeutic lifestyle changes like low salt diet, avoid tea and coffee, regular physical exercise, take more fruits and vegetables.

The above measures can decrease BP by at least 10 mmHg. We can try the non-pharmacological management for two to three weeks. If the pressure did not come down, then we need to start medication.

It is better to start tablet Cilnidipine 5 mg in the morning, if medication is required. Please discuss my opinion with your doctor and take the medicine with consent.

For further information consult an internal medicine physician online --> https://www.icliniq.com/ask-a-doctor-online/internal-medicine-physician