Heal your heart, change your life
Hypertension or high blood pressure occurs when too much force pushes against the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the body. According to the Center for Disease Control, about 1 in every 3 American adults has hypertension and only roughly half have it under control. Untreated, high blood pressure can cause damage to the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other organs potentially leading to heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, or kidney disease.
Blood pressure is the measurement of the force of blood flow against arterial walls both when the heart is contracting (systolic blood pressure), and when the heart is at rest and refilling (diastolic blood pressure). Below is chart from the American Heart Association explaining how blood pressure is categorized; note differences for ethnic groups and genders.
Naturopathic approaches to hypertension
Naturopathic approaches to treating hypertension focus on identification of the underlying cause and incorporating diet and lifestyle changes including, stress management, herbal supplements, and occasionally pharmaceutical medications to aid in its control.
Naturopathic doctors take into consideration the individual characteristics of hypertension – sodium sensitivity, vascular relaxation, autonomic dysfunction, hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis). This information helps to determine therapeutic interventions. Some tests that may be considered include renal function, hyperparathyroidism, thyroid function, and inflammatory markers in the blood such as CRP as well as other factors like the aldosterone to renin activity ratio and homocysteine. The results of these test can indicate possible causes of high blood pressure.
The use of pharmaceutical or natural management techniques can work to preserve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of further organ damage due to the elevated blood pressure levels. Common naturopathic therapies include dietary interventions, lifestyle modifications, and stress reduction, as well as the use of herbs and supplements.
Your guide to reducing hypertension
Obviously, if you have high blood pressure, see your doctor. In addition to following your doctor’s instructions, there are a number of healthy lifestyle practices that can be adopted to reduce hypertension include the following.
Nutritious diet: high-fiber foods, such as fruits and vegetables as well as foods high in potassium and protein but low in saturated fat and salt.
Physical Activity: The American Heart Association recommends 150–300 minutes of moderate exercise (roughly 20 minutes per day), 75–150 minutes of vigorous exercise or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous exercise per week. The physical activity recommendation for children and adolescents is 60 minutes per week.
Weight management: Eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly can help with weight management. One approach is to limit the intake of red meat, salt, and added sugars.
Rounding up the recommendations include not smoking, get enough rest and limit alcohol intake.
Alternative treatments
Research suggests some types of alternative medicine can produce small decreases in blood pressure in individuals with hypertension. These include tai chi, meditation, yoga, and qigong.
Tai chi is an exercise that combines deep diaphragmatic breathing with graceful body movements. An older 2013 study reviewed 18 clinical trials investigating its effects on hypertension. Researchers found encouraging evidence that it may help reduce hypertension.
Meditation involves focusing the mind on a particular thought or object. A 2017 review evaluated the effects of meditation on the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases.
Yoga involves poses and slow, gentle movements. A 2014 review of 120 studies assessed the benefit of yoga on hypertension in 6,693 participants. Most of the studies reported that yoga could reduce hypertension and suggested that clinical guidelines should include yoga as a therapy.
Qigong is an exercise that involves coordinating breathing patterns with meditation and rhythmic movements. A 2015 meta-analysis 20 clinical trials evaluating the effects of qigong on 2,349 people with hypertension suggested it was an effective therapy.
Your naturopathic doctor knows best
Naturopathic physicians are uniquely qualified to develop an appropriate plan to safely address the true underlying cause of the problem. The number of natural treatments available to aid in managing blood pressure are plentiful. Treatment needs to be personalized to effectively treat the cause of high blood pressure, which is best determined by a naturopathic physician. Diagnostic workups include physical examination, a thorough medical history, and diagnostic and laboratory testing to uncover the true cause of hypertension.
Article sources: https://aanmc.org/featured-articles/high-blood-pressure-2/, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/hypertension-treatment#alternative-medicine, https://heart.org/blevels