High blood pressure affects more than a quarter of all adults in the UK, according to the NHS.
It’s caused by following an unhealthy diet, or by not doing enough exercise.
The condition, which is also known as hypertension, puts extra stress on blood vessels and vital organs.
You could slash your chances of developing high blood pressure by avoiding certain foods in your diet, it’s been claimed.
Although bread is often relied upon as a daily staple food, some types of bread could be raising your risk of high blood pressure.
Salt is often added to dough or sprinkled on top of a freshly baked loaf, according to the British Heart Foundation.
The charity said: “Read the nutrition information before buying, as there’s a lot of variation between different breads.”
The same applies to jacket potatoes, said the British Heart Foundation. They’re sometimes rubbed with salt before being cooked, or salt may have been sprinkled on chips being they’ve served to you.
Salt raises your blood pressure, said the NHS. The more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure.
Everyone should aim to eat less than six grams of salt in a single day – the equivalent to about a teaspoonful.
Despite breakfast being the most important meal of the day, eating some breakfast cereals may be raising blood pressure.
Certain cereals have added sugars that don’t have any nutritional benefit, warned TV’s Dr Oz.
The added calories can easily lead to weight gain, which forces the heart to work harder, and therefore increases blood pressure.
Everyone should also cut back on the amount of alcohol they drink too, warned Superdrug.
Even just one drink can increase the risk of developing high blood pressure, it said.
“Drinking more than three alcoholic drinks a day increases your chances of eventually developing hypertension by up to 70 per cent,” said Superdrug’s Dr Louisa Draper.
“It doesn’t matter if you drink every day or regularly drink lots of alcohol in one go – the basic rule of thumb is that the more you drink in total, the higher your risk of developing hypertension.”
Eating a healthy, balanced diet and doing regular exercise could lower your chances of high blood pressure.
The condition is often known as ‘the silent killer’, as there aren’t always any warning signs that you have hypertension.
If you have extremely high blood pressure, symptoms may include chest pain, blurred vision, and finding blood in your urine.