High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major health risk for millions of Canadians. It can lead to life-threatening conditions such as heart attack and stroke. The good news is that high blood pressure is often reversible by making changes to your diet and lifestyle. Here’s an overview of what you need to know about this condition and how you can treat it naturally at home—without popping any pills!

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a condition in which the force of blood against the walls of your arteries is too high. Blood pressure is measured by two numbers: systolic (the top number) and diastolic (the bottom number). The higher these numbers are from normal range, the greater your risk for heart attack and stroke.

The most common way to measure blood pressure is with a sphygmomanometer (sfig-moe-man-OM-a-tur). It’s called that because it measures both …