Affecting millions worldwide, hypertension or high blood pressure is a common health condition nowadays. When the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries is higher than normal, it is called hypertension. The exact causes of this disorder are not known but lifestyle factors like smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, excessive salt intake and alcohol consumption are major contributors to this disease.

When it comes to keeping our hearts healthy and disease-free, an active lifestyle and a balanced diet are a must. Read along to learn some effective ways to keep your heart healthy.  Exercise Regular exercise can reduce your risk of developing heart disease. It can also be a great mood booster and stress buster. 1 Give up smoking If you’re a smoker, quit. Smoking is one of the main causes of coronary heart disease. A year after giving up, your risk of a heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker.

Angioplasty also called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is a procedure used to open blocked coronary arteries (caused by coronary artery disease). It restores blood flow to the heart muscle without open-heart surgery. Angioplasty can be done in an emergency setting such as an acute heart attack or in an elective setting when heart disease is strongly suspected from non-invasive testing.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is called the “silent killer” for good reason. It often has no symptoms but is a major risk for heart disease and stroke. Your blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury, which is abbreviated as mm Hg. There are two numbers involved in the measurement: