“In this video, you’ll hear from Kaiser Permanente members with hypertension and high blood pressure, and learn about the changes that they were able to make in their lives to get their blood pressure under control.”
Michael Kanter, MD

“I bought a pair of tennis shoes for the first time in over 30 years. I bought a little headset radio too. Whatever it took to get me moving and keep me moving.”
Calvin

“My doctor was amazed at how not only had my blood pressure gone down, but I had lost 30 pounds. We were happy about that.”
June​

“It’s normal for your blood pressure to go up and down throughout the day, but it is considered too high when it goes over 140 and 90 most of the time.”
Tumani Leatherwood, MD​

“I want to be healthy. I want to be here. I have a 14-year-old daughter. I want to see her grown, married, and grandkids.”
Shedrick

“When I was informed that I had [high blood pressure], I was immediately put on a diet and medication to bring it down. It did work! At this point it’s normal.”
Marie

“The effect of sodium raising blood pressure is actually much more enhanced in anyone who has African American heritage.”
Robert Bosarge, Nurse Educator

“The biggest challenge for me is I like salt…So I had to make the changes to find other snacks that were low in sodium and to change my mind that I like other things instead of chips.”
Michelle

“My faith causes me to have hope, to have belief, and to be motivated to do things that are good for my body.”
Jimmy​

“It may seem hard at first to take your blood pressure medication every day, but just like putting your shoes on in the morning or brushing your teeth at night, it gets easier when you make it part of your daily routine.”
Kimberly Reece, MD

“For men, specifically, I would advise that you take your medication like you’re supposed to.”
Tyrone

“Monitoring my blood pressure really helped me to take charge of it and know what’s normal and not normal.”
Ernestine

“For all of the members featured in this video, focusing on their family and the reasons they wanted to live a long and healthy life motived them to take the steps necessary to get their blood pressure under control.”
Howard Fullman, MD​