Move the lifestyle sliders. See what your blood pressure could be in 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and a year.
Every number comes from peer-reviewed clinical trials — no guesswork.
Step 1 · Where you are now
140
Systolic
/
88
Diastolic
Stage 1
Age
48yr
Systolic (top)
140mmHg
Diastolic (bottom)
88mmHg
Step 2 · Your plan
What will you actually do?
All sliders start at zero — move only the ones you'll actually commit to. Each represents a change from your current habits (weight you'll lose, exercise you'll add, etc.). Citations in the slider labels link to the underlying meta-analysis.
Weight loss target (kg you'll lose)
0kg ↓
What this means
Each kilogram you lose drops your top BP number by about 1 mmHg. Works best paired with other changes — weight loss alone tends to come back without a supporting plan.
Salt reduction (grams/day you'll cut)
0g/d ↓
What this means
Less salt = less water held in your blood = lower BP. Most of your salt (~70%) hides in packaged food, restaurant meals, and bread — not the shaker. Read labels.
Cardio exercise (brisk minutes/week you'll add)
0min/wk
What this means
Brisk walking, cycling, swimming, jogging — anything that gets your heart rate up and you can still talk. 150 minutes per week (about 30 min × 5 days) is the BP sweet spot.
Strength training (sessions/week you'll add)
0×/wk
What this means
Weights, machines, push-ups, or bands — any resistance work, 2-3 sessions per week. Doesn't need to be heavy: progressive load on the big muscle groups is what counts.
Wall squats or grip holds (2-min holds, 4 times — sessions/week)
0×/wk
What this means
Hold a wall-sit (back against wall, knees bent) or squeeze a hand-gripper for 2 minutes, rest 2 minutes, repeat 4 times. Network meta-analysis of 270 RCTs (n=15,827) ranked this the most effective modality for lowering BP, −8.24 mmHg SBP (Edwards 2023, BJSM).
DASH-style eating (% of your meals)
0%
What this means
DASH = Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. A plate built around vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, fish, nuts, and low-fat dairy — with less red meat, added sugar, and processed snacks. % = the share of your meals that look like this.
Alcohol you drink now (current drinks/day)
0drinks/d
What this means
Each daily drink above 2 raises BP. Cutting back lowers it by roughly 1 mmHg per drink/day removed. Below 2 the effect is smaller but still real — there's no fully "safe" BP threshold for alcohol.
Sleep duration (hours/night you'll average)
7hr
What this means
Less than 7 hours raises BP. Restoring sleep from short (under 6 h) to 7–8 h gives the biggest payoff. If snoring is loud and you wake unrested, ask your doctor about sleep apnea — treating it can lower BP further.
Blood-pressure medication (if prescribed by your doctor)
No
What this means
One first-line BP medication (such as an ACE inhibitor, ARB, calcium channel blocker, or thiazide diuretic) typically drops the top number by about 10-15 mmHg (BPLTTC 2021 meta-analysis, 48 trials, n=344,716). Add lifestyle changes and the combined drop is roughly additive — the SPRINT-trial approach.
Step 3 · Your salt sensitivity
How much does sodium affect you?
~50% of hypertensive adults are salt-sensitive (Weinberger 1986). Click any that apply — adjusts your sodium-reduction benefit estimate.
Age 60+
African descent
BMI 30+ (obesity)
Existing high BP (SBP ≥ 130)
Family history of high BP
None apply
Salt-sensitivity multiplier: 1.0×
Step 4 · How realistic are you?
Be honest
Trial-grade effect sizes assume 80-100% adherence. Real-world dads land at 40-70%. Pick what's realistic for you.
Your 12-month forecast
Where this gets you
Projected SBP trajectory with 95% confidence band. Anchored to PREMIER (Appel 2003), DASH-Sodium (Sacks 2001), TONE (Whelton 1998), and recent meta-analyses. Full citations in the panel below.
90110120130140160190 mmHg
Year 1: 125
Today: 140
Your plan moves SBP 140 → 125 over 12 months — a −15 mmHg reduction.
Crosses out of Stage 2 by Month 4, into Elevated zone by Month 9.
Today
140
baseline
Week 4
—
—
Month 3
—
—
Month 6
—
—
Year 1
—
—
Step 5 · What's moving the needle
Per-lever attribution
How much of your projected reduction comes from each lifestyle change. Drag the sliders above to re-rank.
Step 6 · You in 1 year
If you do nothing vs do the plan
Projecting your BP, 10-yr cardiovascular risk, and cognitive risk forward 12 months under both scenarios.
Do nothing
BP drifts ~+0.6 mmHg/yr in midlife
SBP in 1 year—
Category—
10-yr stroke risk—
10-yr CV event risk—
Cognitive risk HR—
Do the plan
Year-1 lifestyle changes fully adopted
SBP in 1 year—
Category—
10-yr stroke risk—
10-yr CV event risk—
Cognitive risk HR—
Step 7 · Where to focus
Your top 3 highest-leverage actions
Ranked by projected SBP reduction for YOU given your current state and salt-sensitivity. Start here.
Educational forecast — not medical advice.
This tool combines peer-reviewed effect sizes into a projection. Real-world individual response varies (CV ~30-40%).
Salt-sensitivity proxies are imperfect; direct testing requires inpatient protocol. If SBP ≥ 160 or DBP ≥ 100, see a clinician
promptly. Medication is often appropriate AND complementary to lifestyle changes.
Sources
Key citations powering this tool
Every coefficient is anchored to peer-reviewed meta-analysis or RCT. Full bibliography in the BP Research page.
Weight loss · Neter et al., Hypertension 2003 — 25 RCTs, n=4,874 → −1.05 mmHg SBP/kg · PMID 12975389
Salt (sodium) · Filippini et al., Circulation 2021 — 85-trial dose-response meta-analysis · PMID 33586450
Cardio (aerobic) · Cornelissen & Smart, JAHA 2013 + Naci et al., BJSM 2019 (197 exercise RCTs, n=10,461) + Edwards et al., BJSM 2023 → pooled −4 to −5 mmHg SBP at ≥150 min/wk · Naci PMID 30563873
Strength training · MacDonald et al., JAHA 2016 — 64 RCTs, n=2,344 → −2 to −3 mmHg SBP in hypertensives · DOI