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Foods to avoid for pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) is a lung disease that can affect the pulmonary arteries. The rare but severe condition can cause high blood pressure in the lungs and increase the risk of suffering right heart failure. Though there is no cure for (PH) the U.S. FDA has approved treatments to help cope with the condition. Further, patients are also advised to avoid certain foods during treatment to speed up their recovery.

Foods to avoid
Avoid these foods in order to reduce the risk of pulmonary hypertension:

Coffee
Coffee is great to drink when you want to stay up to work late hours, but it can affect your health too. Coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant that can result in a spike in blood pressure levels. So you must avoid coffee if you wish to contain your blood pressure levels. You might want to try chicory as a substitute for coffee in the morning.

Processed and red meats
Processed meat and red meat might be delicious but must be avoided if you wish to reduce the risk of pulmonary hypertension. These meats are loaded with sodium as part of the curing, seasoning, and preservation process. You must also avoid foods like bread, pickles, and cheese as they also contain high sodium levels.

Sugar
Sugar or sugar-based foods such as desserts and other sweet foods should also be excluded from your daily meals. Based on research, sugar-based products can lead to an increase in weight in adults and children. Being overweight can put one at a greater risk of having high blood pressure. Therefore, a person affected by pulmonary hypertension should reduce or avoid the consumption of sugar.

Frozen pizza
A pizza is a great fast food to enjoy eating over the weekend. However, the food is high in sugars, sodium, and saturated fat. Two slices of American cheese contain about 512 mg of sodium. Instead of frozen pizza, you should try using low sodium cheese, homemade dough to make the base, and top the pizza with healthy veggies. Doing so will help improve your condition and reduce the risk of increased blood pressure.

Salt
Salt is often used to enhance the flavor of the food, but it can do some serious damage. A doctor will always advise patients to reduce their sodium intake if they are subject to pulmonary hypertension. Salt is a sodium-based food present in several canned, packaged, and pickled foods. By reducing your salt intake, the symptoms of PH may reduce significantly. You can always substitute salt with other spices like cumin, garlic, and herbs.

Treatments

Adempas (riociguat)
Adempas (riociguat) is a prescription used to treat adults with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension who continue to have high pulmonary blood pressure even after surgery. It is also used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. It reduces blood pressure in the lungs and helps the heart pump blood more efficiently.

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