Dr. McGregor, an internist and lung specialist who has been living in Washington Heights and practicing medicine there since he finished Harvard Medical School years ago, tells us how he was able to help his patient come up with different options for treating her high blood pressure.

Q: One of your patients, Vickie Powell (who is featured on GetHealthyHarlem.org) came to you with high blood pressure. After talking to you, you both were able to come up with some other treatments instead of taking medicine, such as diet, weight loss and stress management to help her lower her blood pressure. What are some of the strategies that she used that other people could also use to treat high blood pressure?

A: The Bible says that "he who has ears, listens." I don't think that is true. In medicine, he who listens also needs to "do." It is one thing to say that you're not going to take any medication, but it's another thing to actually work on not taking medicine. What I mean is that the person has to be willing to sit there and say "OK, I don't want to take medicine. What do I need to do to not take medicine?" This leads the person to enter a conversation with their doctor and figure out what they need to do instead to help them lower their blood pressure. Usually a doctor will give a patient a certain amount of time to let them try to do it their way, if that doesn't work, then they might have to try something else.

I think what made Vickie successful is that she made lifestyle changes that she was able to keep over time. She not only listened to me, she took action. She changed her diet, began exercising more, and recognized what things were making her stressed and stayed away from them. I think if people can really take the time to do these same things, they can have the same results. But you have to do it every day - and you can't stop after a few months - these are huge changes that you must stick with. If you get back into the same bad habits as before, your high blood pressure will come right back.

Read more from Dr. McGregor by clicking the links below:

• His experiences becoming a doctor
• What older patients are doing to stay healthy
• Getting the most out of doctors visits
• Mixing medicine and faith
• Getting tested for high blood pressure, diabetes, and HIV
• Parents' involvement in children's health
• What he likes best about being a doctor
• Tips to be a better patient