High Blood Pressure is also known as Hypertension (Scientific), uchch rakt chaap (Hindi/Urdu), uchch rakt daab (Marathi), uyar iratta aluttam (Tamil), Gao xieya (Chinese), hipertension (Spanish), hipertensao (Portuguese), uchch rakt chaap (Bengali), gipertoniya (Russian).
What is Hypertension?
The blood pressure is measured with the instrument called sphygmomanometer in millimeters of mercury. The highest pressure reached during each heart beat is called systolic pressure and the lowest between the two beats is known as diastolic pressure. The first gives the pressure of the contraction of the heart as it pushes the blood on its journey through the body and indicates the activity of the heart. The second represents the pressure present in the artery when the heart is relaxed and shows the condition of the blood vessels. The blood pressure level considered normal is 120/70, but may go up to 140 /90 and still be normal. Within this range, the lower the reading, the better. Blood pressure between 140/90 and 160/95 is considered border line area. From 160/96 to 180/114, it is classed as moderate hypertension, while 180/115 and upward is considered severe. A raised diastolic pressure is considered more serious than the raised systolic pressure as it has a serious long-term effect. The higher the pressure the greater the danger it causes to the wall.
Symptoms of High Blood Pressure
Mild and moderate hypertension may not produce any symptoms for years. The first symptoms may appear in the form of pain toward the back of the head and neck on waking in the morning, which soon disappears. Some of the other usual symptoms of hypertension are dizziness, aches and pains in the arms, shoulder region, leg, back, etc., palpitations, pain in the heart region, frequent urination, nervous tension and fatigue, crossness, emotional upset, tiredness and wakefulness. A person suffering from high blood pressure cannot do any serious work, feels tired and out of sorts all the time. He may experience difficulty in breathing and suffer from dyspepsia. Hypertension, if not eliminated, may cause heart attacks or strokes or other disability conditions such as detachment of the terina.
What Causes Hypertension?
The kidneys play an important role in controlling blood pressure through secretion of rennin, a natural chemical. If increased rennin is secreted by the kidneys, more salts are retained in the body, which leads to an increase in the volume of circulating blood and consequently to an increase in the blood pressure. Repeated infections and inflammation in the kidneys can also give rise to hypertension. The most important causes of hypertension are stress and a faulty style of living. People who are usually tense suffer from high blood pressure, especially when under stress. If the stress continues for a long period, the pressure may become permanently raised and may not become even after removal of the stress. An irregular life style, smoking and an excessive intake of intoxicants, tea, coffee, cola drinks, refined foods, destroy the natural pace of life. The expulsion of waste and poisonous matter from the body is prevented and the arteries and the veins become slack. hardening of the arteries, obesity, diabetes and severe constipation also lead to hypertension. Other causes of high blood pressure are excessive intake of pain killers, common table salt, food allergies and eating a high fat, low fiber diet, processed foods deficient in essential nutrients.
Natural High Blood Pressure Treatments. Alternative Remedy at Home for Hypertension
- Lower Blood Pressure Naturally: Eating 2-3 cloves of garlic everyday helps to keep blood pressure under control. Garlic helps to reduce small veins contraction and helps to reduce irregular heartbeat. It also beneficial for stomach gases, fatigue or confusion and breathing difficulty. Which are indirect cause and symptoms of hypertension.
- You may be able to keep your blood pressure under control by drinking magnetic water. Put a cupful of water (preferably in a glass container) next to the north pole of a magnet. Let it sit for 2 hours. Drink a cupful of magnetic water twice a day. Charging the water in this way increases its diuretic properties and thus helps bring down high blood pressure, in the same way as several widely used current hypertension medications, which are diuretics.
- High blood pressure treatments without drugs: Eat honeydew and watermelon everyday without removing seeds. All melons, especially honey dew, contain potassium. As noted earlier, reducing dietary intake of sodium and optimizing intake of potassium can help bring blood pressure under control. Eat watermelon, seeds and all. OR Eat some watermelon with a pinch of cardamom and a pinch of coriander added. This will act as a mild diuretic and will help to regulate blood pressure. The seeds of watermelon have a juice that contains L-citrulline, an amino acid the body converts to Larginine, another amino acid, which relaxes arteries.
- Add 1 teaspoon coriander and 1 pinch cardamom to 1 cup freshly squeezed (not canned) peach juice. Drink this as many as 2 or 3 times a day to help with high blood pressure.
- Grind amla (Indian gooseberry) without seed and strain the juice. Take 1 tablespoon of this juice along with same amount of honey. Drink this everyday morning on regular basis.
- Soak 1 or 2 rudraksha beads in a cup of water overnight, and the next day drink that water. This is beneficial for regulating blood pressure.
- Eating purple potatoes twice a day for a month can lower the blood pressure. Boil potatoes with peel and try different recipes. Potatoes has lots of potassium and less magnesium.
- Mix orange juice and coconut water (the natural juice inside a fresh coconut) in a ratio of 2 parts orange to 1 part coconut. Drink ½ to 1 cup 2 or 3 times a day.
- Mix together punarnava (Boerhavia diffusa) 1 part, passion flower 1 part and hawthorn berry 2 parts. Use all dried powders. Take a cup of boiling water and add 1/2 tablespoon of mixture in it. Steep for 5 to 10 minutes, and drink the tea after lunch and dinner.
- Dry and roast watermelon seeds. Enjoy everyday. This helps to increase blood vessel size which eventually keeps blood pressure low.
- Honey water can also help. Add a teaspoon of honey and 5 to 10 drops of apple cider vinegar to a cup of hot water, and drink it in the early morning. This drink helps to reduce cholesterol, maintains vasodilation, and helps to regulate blood pressure.
- Drink 1 cup mango juice, followed about an hour later by ½ cup warm milk, with a pinch of cardamom, a pinch of nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon ghee.
- Lower blood pressure with hibiscus: Hibiscus tea consumed before breakfast for four weeks is very useful for blood pressure lowering. Regular consumption of hibiscus tea also lowers LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (blood fats) and raises HDL (good) cholesterol. Boil 5 cups of water in a stainless-steel pot. Remove from the heat. Add ½ cup (72 g) dried hibiscus calyces. Cover and steep for 15 minutes. Strain. Add 1 cup (235 ml) pure pomegranate juice and ½ lemon juice. Drink warm or cold. You may use cranberry juice instead of pomegranate juice. Both these juices can lower blood pressure. All of these plants are rich in antioxidant and cardiovascular protecting plant compounds called flavonoids.
- Parsley contains potassium which is an important component required to counter the effects of sodium and thereby control the blood pressure levels and the heart rate. Take 250 ml of water, add 25gm of parsley leaves and bring it to boil. Boil it for 10 minutes. Strain the water. Drink this water 5-6 times a day.
- Mung dal soup, made of mung dal with cilantro, cumin, and a pinch of turmeric, is good for persons with hypertension.
Vitamins for high BP: Try vegetable soup. Yes, vegetable soup. - Add any of the following: Celery, Garlic, Hawthorn, Kudzu, Onion, Tomato, Broccoli, Carrot, Purslane (any anything else that contains magnesium), Saffron, Valerian, Fennel, Oregano, Black Pepper, Basil and Tarragon. Consume on a regular basis. Eliminate pork, beef, and alcohol from your diet. Eat more plant foods and herbs and use a good vitamin regimen.
Healthy diet tips for High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) patients
- Meditation is excellent for regulating blood pressure. (During meditation practice imagine the dial on a blood pressure cuff slowly falling. Imagine changes in measurements as heart rate and blood pressure with relaxation and believe me it will definitely help to lower blood pressure.)
- Sleep at least 8 hours. Taking a good rest is very important for high BP patients.
- Persons with hypertension should not eat salt, fatty fried foods, or hot spicy food.
- An apple (including their peel!) a day. Apple peels are rich in the cholesterol lowering fiber pectin and in flavonoids that inhibit angiotensin converting enzyme.
- Increase your intake of dietary fiber, and of potassium, calcium, and magnesium, which have a balancing effect on the circulation and encourage the action of the heart.
- Working hard under the hot sun should be avoided by anyone with high blood pressure, as that may promote hemorrhage in the brain.
- Keep up with regular annual checkups. During that time, medical staff will check your blood pressure. Many peoples have hypertension and don’t know it. If you have prehypertension or hypertension, your doctor will recommend more frequent monitoring.