Overview

It is estimated that over 50 million people in the United States have high blood pressure or are on prescription drugs to control their blood pressure. High blood pressure is a silent disease. It is often diagnosed during a routine visit to the doctor.

Blood pressure refers to the force of blood against the walls of the arteries, veins, and the chambers of the heart as it is pumped through the body. With high blood pressure, there is a greater force against the arteries, which over time, begins to damage the lining of the blood vessels. It can lead to atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries. High cholesterol and smoking are other risk factors of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis, in turn, can increase the lead to heart attack, stroke, and other serious

Blood Pressure Readings
New blood pressure definitions, released in May 2003 by the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:

When blood pressure is checked, two values are recorded. The higher value reflects the highest pressure in the arteries, which is reached when the heart contracts (during systole). The lower value reflects the lowest pressure in the arteries, which is reached just before the heart begins to contract again (during diastole). Blood pressure is written as systolic pressure/diastolic pressure—for example, 120/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury). This reading is referred to as "120 over 80."

What Are the Risk Factors for High Blood Pressure?

• Aging. Many Americans tend to develop high blood pressure as they get older, but this is not a part of healthy aging.
• Overweight/obesity
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Family history of high blood pressure
• Prehypertension (120–139/80–89 mmHg)
• Race. African Americans may get hypertension earlier in life than whites and its
• negative effects are greater in blacks.
• Chronic stress
• Cigarette smoking
• Alcohol use/abuse
• Insulin resistance or diabetes. Hyperlipidemia (high blood trigly
• cerides or cholesterol)
• Western cultures in general are at risk for high blood pressure. This is most likely due to diet and lifestyle habits.

Hypertension Symptoms

Depending on the cause, the symptoms of high blood pressure may vary, but include:

• May have no symptoms until complications develop
• Dizziness
• Flushed face
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Epistaxis (nosebleed)
• Nervousness
• Retinal hemorrhage (bleeding in the retina of the eye)
• Stroke
• Excess perspiration
• Palpitations
• Weakness Polyuria (frequ
• ent urination)
• Leg claudication (cramping in legs with walking)

Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is often asymptomatic. People with severe high blood pressure may experience the following symptoms:

• dizziness
• flushed face
• dizziness
• nervousness
• headache
• fatigue and weakness
• restlessness
• difficulty breathing
• nose bleed
• insomnia
• intestinal complaints
• emotional instability

Diagnosing High Blood Pressure

The diagnosis of high blood pressure depends on repeatedly demonstrating higher than normal blood pressure. Secondary causes of high blood pressure must also be ruled out. Blood and urine tests and eye exams are often conducted.

Natural Treatments for High Blood Pressure

In most cases of mildly elevated blood pressure, doctors will recommend dietary and lifestyle modification for a period of time to see if this normalizes blood pressure. It is important to work with your pri mary care provider. Untreated high blood pressure can damage many organs in the body and increases the risk for stroke, brain hemorrhage, heart attack, and kidney failure at an early age.

Diet

Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium – Adequate intake of the minerals calcium, potassium, and magnesium is necessary for blood pressure control. When the diet lacks these minerals, supplementation may improve blood pressure control. Potassium-rich foods include avocados, bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, grapefruit, nectarines, oranges, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, green peas, potatoes, and squash. Foods rich in magnesium include nuts, rice, bananas, potatoes, wheat germ, kidney and lima beans, soy, and molasses.

Lifestyle Changes

Exercise - Regular exercise can help to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and decrease resting heart rate, which is a sign of heart health. Before beginning a new exercise program, a person with high blood pressure should consult a qualified health professional.

Stress Management – Mind/body techniques to help manage stress include yoga, meditation, biofeedback, qigong, relaxation exercises, breathing exercises, and hypnotherapy. There have been numerous studies that suggest these techniques can effective in managing high blood pressure, in combination with other approaches.

Nutrition

Hypertensive people can remarkably reduce their blood pressure through nutritional changes. Increasing the amount of vegetables and fruit and reducing the amount of fat and cholesterol will not only reduce blood pressure but can help with weight loss, which also lowers blood pressure.

• Eat whole, fresh, unrefined, and unprocessed foods. Include fruits, vegetables, garlic, onion, whole grains, soy, beans, seeds, nuts, olive oil, and cold-water fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, halibut, and mackerel).
• Low sodium-high potassium diet . Most people are aware that reducing sodium (salt) intake can help reduce blood pressure. However, that may not be the whole picture. Restricting sodium intake to lower blood pressure appears to work better if accompanied by increasing potassium intake. Keep in mind that reducing sodium intake involves more than not using a salt shaker, but also reading processed and prepared food labels for the sodium content. ·
• Avoid salt, sugar, dairy products, refined foods, fried foods, junk foods, and caffeine.
• Eliminate food sensitivities. Use an elimination and ch allen ge diet to determine food sensitivities.
• Drink œ of your body weight in ounces of water daily (e.g., if you weigh 150 lbs, drink 75 oz of water daily).