About half of all people over 65 years old are estimated to have high blood pressure. Having high blood pressure can increase the risk of several different diseases, such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, and dementia.
Researchers at Lund University have now investigated how SMS with lifestyle advice can affect those who need to lower their pressure.
Clear differences
The study included 401 patients between 40 and 85 years old who had high blood pressure. Half of these were randomly assigned to receive SMS with advice and information on physical activity, diet, alcohol, and tobacco four times a week. The messages also contained general information about cardiovascular health.
The study, published in Plos One, lasted for six months, and the researchers saw clear differences between the groups. Those who initially rated their health as low and were sedentary saw the greatest improvements. They lowered their diastolic blood pressure, equivalent to the effect of a blood pressure-lowering medication.
Overall, the participants in the SMS group increased their physical activity by 25 minutes per week on average and also reduced their alcohol intake during the study period.
Small changes are enough
According to the researchers behind the study, it does not require major changes in lifestyle when it comes to cardiovascular health.
"Trying to establish a healthy routine in daily life, taking a lunch walk, using the stairs instead of the elevator, or parking the car further away has an effect," says Hanna Glock, a doctoral student at Lund University and a specialist in general medicine within Primary Care Skåne, in a press release.
In-depth interviews were also conducted with 14 of those who received SMS advice. The conclusion from them was that they experienced the SMS setup as good. They also thought it was important that the messages felt encouraging and not like nagging.
Two values are measured when checking blood pressure. One is called systolic pressure or overpressure, which shows the load on the blood vessel walls when the heart contracts and pumps out blood. The other is called diastolic pressure or underpressure, which measures the load when the heart relaxes and fills with blood.
The span between systolic and diastolic pressure is called pulse pressure.
Source: Karolinska Institutet
