High blood pressure is known as the ‘silent killer’ because most of the time there are no obvious symptoms, and as a result people can go years without knowing they have it. Hypertension, another name for high blood pressure, is a killer because it can cause serious health problems, according to the American Heart Association.

If you have high blood pressure for a long period of time in your life, it can cause damage to your heart, to your brain, and to your kidneys, says Dr. Chauncey Crandall, world-renowned cardiologist and director of preventive medicine at the Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Florida.

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According to the Mayo Clinic, healthy people ages 18 to 39 should have their blood pressure checked at least once every two to five years, and those older than 40 should be checked at least annually. Those with heart disease risks factors, such as obesity, should be checked more often. If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure you will need to be checked regularly.

The good news is you can take steps that will lower blood pressure. “The biggest this is to reduce your weight,” Crandall tells Newsmax’s “Newsline.” “Your ideal body weight is what you weighed when you graduated from high school, up to 15 pounds. If you're over that weight, simply losing 10 pounds will lower blood pressure,” explains Crandall.

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He also recommends walking at least 30 minutes to an hour daily, getting proper rest and sleep and reducing stress. “If you do those, in addition to maybe a more healthy diet, your blood pressure will lower itself and possibly even go back to normal,” says Crandall, editor of the popular newsletter Dr. Crandall's Heart Health Report.

Managing cholesterol is also important as high cholesterol increases risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes, says Crandall. The reason so many people have high cholesterol can be blamed on our bad diet in the U.S., according to Crandall.

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But, he says, some of the same advice for lowering blood pressure works for lowering cholesterol, such as losing weight and walking ever day. In addition, eating a Mediterranean diet is beneficial.

“Focus on foods low in cholesterol, a plant-based diet,” recommends Crandall. “What Italians would eat would be the best form of diet to follow,” says Crandall. He recommends a lot of vegetables and less bad oils. Crandall emphasizes, “The only oil you should be using in your diet today is olive oil.”

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