Non-Drug Treatment of Hypertension

As more people with mild hypertension are treated, non-drug therapies should be used more frequently and effectively. These therapies include weight reduction; sodium restriction; potassium, calcium, and magnesium supplementation; other dietary changes; exercise; relaxation; and moderation of alcohol use. Such therapies have been inadequately used, in part because of a lack of confidence in their effectiveness and overconfidence in the effectiveness and safety of drug therapy. Evidence about the effectiveness, mode of action, safety, and patient acceptance of the various non-drug therapies is reviewed, and practical guidelines to their use are provided. Non-drug therapies may provide enough antihypertensive effect to lower blood pressure of many patients with mild hypertension to a safe level without the need for antihypertensive drugs.