From this review we can conclude that vegetarian diets are associated with lower blood pressure. Limited studies have investigated which types of vegetarian diets work best to lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressures, including vegan, lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, lacto/ovo-vegetarian, pollotarian, and pescetarian.
Vegetarian diets can be an adjunct or alternative to pharmacologic therapies, along with exercise, and can be useful for subclinical patients who do not intend to take medication to treat high blood pressure. If health care providers as a whole simply prescribe antihypertensive medications, then those patients may have lower blood pressure for a day. If patients are educated on natural ways to prevent or lower high blood pressure, then they may have the potential to achieve lower blood pressure for life. In addition, other areas of concern, such as physical activity, smoking and alcohol use, weight status, stress level, and coping mechanisms, all play an important role in blood pressure and should also be addressed at the primary care visit.