How to live lightly with high blood pressure

It runs in the family. My late grandfather, parents and sibling... hypertension has afflicted all. It never occurred to me that I should monitor my blood pressure because of my fairly consistent commitment to exercise. Ironically, the first diagnosis came after a martial arts class. I don’t remember much of that experience except for the hammering headache which prevented me from participating. It was 2019 and I was 34.

The cardiologist was confused, I was too young. But, if the recent rise in cardiovascular disease and related deaths among thirty some- things is anything to go by, my case was not an outlier. My diastolic—the micro second state of rest after the heart pumps out blood—was alarmingly high. My brain wiped out most of the worry that followed and my pressure was controlled with medicines. Exercise resumed and I moved on.

In the medicine-induced normalcy, I got a job to oversee the food section of Lounge. The allure of being on the forefront of one of the buzziest lifestyle subjects made me place the sphygmomanometer in a corner drawer and forget about it. But 2024 was a big year. I got pregnant which made my gynaecologist happy and concerned in equal parts. She mandated regular visits to the cardiologist and they teamed up to monitor my blood pressure daily.

I was blissfully unaware about the effects of hypertension on an expecting mother and an unborn child but it ranges from low blood flow to the foetus and poor foetal growth to the dreaded preeclampsia and seizures.

My diet had a complete makeover with low salt, high protein and next to no eating out or ordering in. Doctors advised not leaving the city for close monitoring. While congratulatory messages said “pregnancy is the most beautiful phase”, it wasn’t the case for me. Somewhere between counting protein to counter low foetal growth, measuring blood pressure thrice a day, and weekly blood tests, I trained myself to focus on the positives. I got a yoga teacher for home visits, never missed massages, and planned a baby shower which was completely out of character. I dislike planning parties for myself, but that baby shower turned out to be more special than my wedding. It was a deliberate attempt to bring all my girlfriends together—so good for my heart.

The topic of friendship rewinds to an incident that occurred just before my diagnosis in 2019. I had gone through my first friendship breakup and it weighed heavy on my chest. As it happens, few days ago while reading the book Just One Heart by cardiologist Jonathan Fisher, I came across the term Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or heartbreak syndrome which caused a cardiac arrest for one of his surviving patients. It made me reflect on the breakup and its link to my high BP. It is not just genetics, but emotional health played a role, too.

Even with high blood pressure, worries about death didn’t bother me. But, now I’m a parent, and nothing makes mortality more palpable. The future pans out with milestones of your child and you want your health to keep up. In addition, children are shaped by parental behaviour—they don’t necessarily learn by what you say, but what you do.

I hope my daughter will avoid packaged salty foods, seeing that her mother shuns them. Chips, salted nuts, soy sauce, pickles and papad have left my kitchen. The biggest casualty was alcohol, especially wine and beer. It does feel like most culinary pleasures have been erased, and there are fleeting pangs of regret. But, an interesting change has emerged. When food is cooked with minimal salt, one finds other ways to savour a meal, like picking up freshness of ingredients and the taste of spices. During pregnancy, these alterations were akin to gruelling marathon prep, and there were pervasive thoughts of letting myself go after delivery. But, not much has changed ten months into post partum. A serving of French fries still rings alarm bells.

Consequently, I made a career shift from covering food and drinks to wellness, and from eating out four days a week to just one or none; but these are merely tangibles. The hard work with most resistance lies in invisibles that speed up the heart rate and spike blood pressure. These could look like letting go of resentment towards a nitpicking relative; forgiving a disloyal friend; being mindful of overexertion; and doing something absolutely uncharacteristic like throwing a party for myself. It involves living lightly without forgetting the sphygmomanometer.

MY 3 STEPS

A DAILY RITUAL: Meditation

A WEEKLY RITUAL: Video call with family

MORNING AND NIGHT ROUTINE: Get some sun and say a silent thank you before bedtime.

Transformative journeys is a monthly series of triumphs, failures, and shifts related to health.