[Prevention and non-medicinal treatment of hypertension (author's transl)].

Due to the multifactorial origin of hypertensive heart disease there are several points of attack for prevention and for non-medicinal therapy. In recent decades prophylactic trials and studies on the therapeutic efficacy of non-medicinal measures in established hypertension have been neglected in favor of drug therapy so that at present only weight reduction and restriction of salt intake show a confirmed action. Further measures are: dietary increase of potassium, physical endurance training and behavior therapy methods. With the low cost of nonmedicinal measures and in view of possible side-effects of a pharmacological hypertension therapy, these should be applied or tested particularly in borderline hypertension.