Hypertension – Cause, Symptoms, Alternative Therapies
Hypertension or High Blood Pressure is a medical disorder, where the pressure of the blood pumped by heart is higher than normal levels. Worldwide the number of patients suffering from Hypertension has been significant. It is predicted by a Medical Study that by 2025, the number of people living with Hypertension will be around 1.56 billion.
High-risk consequences are associated with Hypertension such as Cardio-vascular diseases, heart-failure and sudden Cardiac arrest causing death etc., if not controlled at the levels and kept normal always. Several Alternative Medical Practices offer excellent treatments and therapies, such as Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Homeopathy and Yoga.
Your heart pumps blood for circulation all over the body. The normal pressure should be 120 mmHG (millimeters of Mercury) as systolic reading when the heart pumps the blood; and 80 mm as diastolic reading when the heart relaxes and refills the blood. When this pattern changes and goes above 140/90, the person is considered as having High Blood Pressure.
Stage-1 hypertension is diagnosed when the pressure is at systolic 140-159 and diastolic 90-99; Stage-2 is 160 or higher and 100 or higher; and the patient is in a hypertensive crisis, when the pressure goes above 180 and 110 respectively.
Hypertension in modern times is more related to life-styles, food habits, anxiety and mental-tension. Salt-rich items; fast-foods; processed foods; alcohol and tobacco use; physical inactivity; age; and overweight are commonly found causes of Primary Hypertension. The secondary Hypertension is caused by diabetes; renal problems; kidney failure; hyperthyroidism and sleeping disorders etc.
Worst part of Hypertension is moderate High Blood Pressure will not show any outward symptoms for years. Only when the Hypertension reaches further stages, symptoms of pain in back of neck and head while walking; pain in arms or shoulders; dizziness; pain in heart area; nervous tension and fatigue; feeling of tiredness and frequent urination etc. are shown, along with difficulty in breathing.
If not diagnosed at the right time and treated, severe damages can occur to arteries and heart; brain; cause of stroke; renal system and kidney failure and fatal consequences.
Hypertension in Ayurveda is recognized as Rakta Gata Vata. The High Blood Pressure is related to the patient’s age, sex, family background, diet and physical and mental activities. The digestive problems of the food eaten leads to accumulation of toxins (ama). These toxins and impurities thicken the blood, and plasma clubbed with ama accumulates in the heart’s channels, preventing the easy flow of blood.
Ayurvedic Practitioners after diagnosing the individual’s body and identifying the root cause of the condition, start treatments. Immediate diet-restrictions and life-style changes are advised. Garlic, lemon, parsley, Amla (Indian gooseberry) grapefruit, watermelon and skimmed milk are advised to be added in daily food. Effective herbal medicines if needed are also prescribed.
In this branch of Alternative Medical Services, the strong belief is food is medicine and by triggering the power of self-healing inherent in the body, one can get relieved from any illnesses. The medicines with side-effects can only bring down High Blood Pressure artificially. The underlying cause should be found out and eradicated, for getting complete relief from Hypertension.
If only toxins accumulated in the body by improper food are cleansed and driven out by well-balanced food, the patient can be cured. These diet restrictions should be followed with sufficient physical exercises and complete rest.
Systematic cleansing starts with only fruits-diets for minimum 7 days; selected fruits like orange; watermelon; apple; pears; mangoes; pineapple and guava are recommended; milk may be added after one week; then after two weeks the patient can start consuming cereals. Only raw vegetables like Tomatoes; Spinach; Cabbage; Onion; Radish and Cucumber are recommended, along with Garlic and Amla for reducing High Blood Pressure. Spinal spray; Cold pack on Spine; and Mud bath are also applied as needed.
Homeopathy is specific in fixing the cause of Hypertension as changed hectic life-style of people. The mental stress gets rooted inside the body in causing High Blood Pressure. So the patient has to regain normalcy in the body-system. This will naturally take time. Homeopaths caution that the Homeopathic medicines will not reduce High BP instantly, it will take at least one or two months to take full-effect for the Homeopathic medicines that are taken in, along with specified physical activities, exercises, and changes to the life-style. Again, the medicines are prescribed depending upon the severity of the condition of the individual patient. Although there are many Homeopathic medicines, five of them are really effective to eliminate BP from the body-system.
They are – Belladona – the best one for High Blood Pressure for those who experience severe headache, whenever the High BP raises; Nux-Vomica for aggressive males suffering with tension; Natrum-Mur for patients who are very fond of salty foods and fried items; Glonine for those suffering with throbbing headache and flushed-red-face; Rauwolfia – made out of the herb Sarpagandha for soothing the irritated nervous system etc. Consult a good Homeopath to come up with suitable remedies that fits your specific conditions.
You can visit Vydya.com web page (https://www.vydya.com/service/hypertension.htm ) to get complete sources of all the above treatments.
Yoga, which if practiced after learning from Expert Yoga Masters will prevent and set-right any problems related to your body, mind and spirit. Hypertension being a problem more-related to your mental status and peaceful life, the best cure is available in Yoga therapies. When systematically practiced, you will feel completely relieved from High Blood Pressure.
Research studies have proved that conscious breathing can quickly reduce blood-pressure. So by using Pranayama, as one of the regular daily Yoga Practices, you can attain mental peace. Some cooling Yoga Poses such as AdhoMukhaShavasana (downward-facing dog pose); Uttanasana (standing forward-bend pose); Paschimottasana (Posterior-stretch pose); Halasana (Plow pose); and SetuBandhaSarvangasana (Bridge-pose) are the recommended poses.