High BP/High Cholesterol: Please share tips and wisdom!

Hi there! When I had my physical two years ago, I had high cholesterol, to the point my doctor wanted to me on meds for it. We decided to give exercise a try. I lost the excess weight, started doing cardio 3-4 times a week and weight training a couple of times a week. Within 3-4 months, my cholesterol was back down to almost normal. Best thing you can do is lose those 20lbs and increase your cardio and other exercise. Good luck!

Just an anecdote, my bf lowered his high b/p and cholesterol about a year after taking up running on a regular basis. Best to check with your doctor about what is right for you though.

My blood pressure has frequently been high normal - not high enough that the two main doctors of mine who I see regularly for anything other than orthopedic issues were worried, but high enough for a comment. It was one of those "well this is consistently this number so I'm not worried" sorts of issues.

My blood pressure was checked January 3rd and it went from 122/88 last January down to 112/72. I suspect part of that was due to weight loss and part of it was due to upping the intensity of my exercise. I have an unrelated appointment on Monday of next week and we'll see what it looks like then - I assume it'll be around the same.

One of the reasons I chose to lose weight was to control BP and lipids. After losing ~55 lbs, my BP went from what was considered prehypertensive at the time (and which would qualify as hypertensive under the new guidelines) to consistently normal, and my LDL went from 158 to 90 (and is even lower now, I suspect.)

I also chalk some of the BP improvement to treating my newly diagnosed OSA with CPAP; however, I have no doubt that being of normal weight has improved my health status. As far as the composition of my diet itself, it's Mediterranean-ish, high on fiber, big on fruits and vegetables along with several servings of fish through the week.

Diet and exercise are not necessarily a panacea, but there's good evidence for giving it a try. Good luck!

I don't have substantial family history of hypercholesterolemia or high blood pressure, but had both until about 3.5 years ago. Before that, I was just a bit over the line into obese BMI (5'5", 183).

About 12 years before, I'd become active enough that my athletic fitness markers were pretty good for my age (resting heart rate, endurance, race pace, strength that sort of thing). For me, that had made negligible difference in blood lipids/BP, at most.

When my doctor started talking about statins, I tried a number of changes in the composition of my eating, and various supplements, with - again - very limited success. There may've been a few percent improvement, but I was still well into the danger zones. (I was already a multi-decade ovo-lacto vegetarian by that point, BTW.)

For me, healthy weight was the magic. When I lost weight, my blood lipids went to solidly normal, BP usually low-normal. I'm now maintaining in the mid-130s, age 63, and lipids/BP continue to be fine.

I think that the interventions that help may differ if someone has familial hypercholesterolemia, but I can't comment on that. I've seen a few MFP friends whom I consider to be level-headed people report improvement in that scenario though increasing consumption of plant-based foods, in some cases going all the way to fully plant-based eating. (They were already active and eating generally nutritiously.) But that's anecdotal, I don't know of any research.

It sounds like you don't have a huge amount of weight to lose, so maybe weight loss won't be enough for you. Still, it might be a good thing to give priority alongside any other dietary/activity changes. You may end up not knowing which intervention helped, but if you end up healthier, that's probably a good trade-off.