Hypertension - Overview
- Do you have constant headache?
- Do you feel buzzing in ears?
- Do you have breathing difficulty, dizziness?
- Do you have increased heart rate?
MAY BE YOU HAVE HYPERTENSION or “BP”…
What is Hypertension?
Hypertension is also known as High Blood Pressure means pressure in the arteries is high. It is a medical condition in which the blood pressure persistently gets elevated above the normal condition i.e. above 140/90 (mmHg).
Recording Blood Pressure: what the numbers mean?
It’s written as two numbers, such as 120/80 mm Hg: Top (systolic) number is the pressure when heart beats and bottom (diastolic) number is pressure when heart rests between beats.
Normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg.
It is dangerous because it makes heart work too hard and contributes to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).Hypertension may be a high risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke and heart failure.
Complications casued by Hypertension:
Severe hypertension will leads to congestive heart failure, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, haemorrhage, memory loss, retinopathy, chronic kidney diseases and major risk factor for heart attacks.
Symptoms of Hypertension
People suffering from hypertension generally come across following conditions which are typical symptoms of Hypertension:
- Constant Headache,
- Tinnitus (buzzing and hissing in the ears)
- Altered vision,
- Occipital Headache,
- Dizziness and
- Fainting episodes.
Causes of Hypertension
Hypertension is generally a result of the following conditions:
- Intake of unhealthy diet and salt
- Family history of blood pressure
- Anxiety (nervousness) and stress
- Increasing age
- Sleep apnoea
- Endocrine disorder (Diabetes)
- Chronic kidney disease
How we help in Hypertension
Hypertension is known as RaktaGataVata or VataPradhanTridoshaja in Ayurveda. The food we eat is digested by ourdigestive fire (jatharagni) to produce nutrient plasma. This plasma nourishes all other dhatusand aids in production of healthy blood which circulates all over the body through various srotas, but impaired digestion due to intake of unhealthy food leads to accumulation of ama (toxins) which further leads to hypertension.
Some of the herbs used in the treatment of hypertension are mentioned as:
- Hibiscus sabdariffa: The leaves, calyx of this plant provides anti-hypertensive effect through direct reduction of tension in the wall of blood vessels.
- Cassia occidentalis (coffee weed): The leaf extract of this plant reduces high BP by inhibiting calcium (Ca2+) influx.
- Zingiberofficinale (ginger): It improves blood circulation and relaxes muscles surrounding blood vessels which lead to reduction of BP.
- Linumusitatissimum (commonly known as Linseed): Oil (α- linolenic acid) is present as omega-3 fatty acids which helps in lowering BP.
- Theobroma cacao (Chocolate, Cocoa bean) is enriched with flavonoids stimulate formation of nitric acid, which lowers systolic as well as diastolic BP.
- Daucuscarota (carrot): Two coumarin glycosides isolated from carrot helps in reducing arterial BP.
- Ocimumbasilium (tulsi): Crude extract of tulsi reduce systolic, diastolic, and mean BP in a dose dependent manner.
- M-Sarpagandhamishran: It is a combination of herbal ingredients having normotensive activity is used as anti-hypertensive agent.