Ezavin, Jennifer

In 2019, the leading cause of death in the United States was cardiac disease associated with high blood pressure. High blood pressure has had profound consequences on people’s lives leading to stroke and even death. As a preventive measure, providers have encouraged lifestyle changes in order to help alleviate the burden of this condition. One of these consist of altering eating habits to a strictly plant-based diet. With the help of Doctor Sarah Long DNP, ten participants suffering from high blood pressure have volunteered to alter their eating habits for four weeks to further demonstrate the efficacy of plant-based diets. Thanks to Nola J. Pender’s Health Promotion Model and a paired t-test, this project was able to provide additional insight on the efficacy of plant-based diets while analyzing the participants’ willingness to alter their lifestyles for health promotion purposes. The results further demonstrated the effectiveness of plant-based diets by successfully assisting nine of the ten participants in lowering their blood pressures.