Hypertension / High Blood Pressure

Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure, which is a chronic lifestyle associated disorder. Normal blood pressure for an adult between the ages of 16-45 should be in the range of 100-140mmHg (systolic) and 60-90 mmHg (diastolic). When this pressure is raised above the normal range it is termed as hyper tension. The gradation of hypertension or high blood pressure is as follows:

Risk zone of Hypertension:

Hypertensive emergency: most people with extremely elevated blood pressure do not show many symptoms, other than headache (hypertension is the cause of headache in 22% cases), dizziness, feeling of lethargy, etc.

If hypertension is left untreated it may lead to serious complications such as multi organ failure due to elevated blood pressure (>180 systolic/>120 diastolic). It also includes complicated conditions such hypertensive encephalopathy caused by swelling to the brain and dysfunction which is again characterized by headache and drowsiness. Fundal bleeding (bleeding inside eyes) is another sign of ocular damage; heart muscle damage is symptomized by chest pain.

Ayurvedic aspect of hypertension:

Hypertension is caused due to the excessive accumulation of toxins in your circulatory, cardiovascular, excretory, respiratory and other systems and channels of the body. These toxin barriers (often undetectable by modern diagnostic methods) create blockages in the system leading to increase in the cardiac workload. In other words the excessive toxins barriers work as hurdles in the free flow of blood circulation, thus increasing the work load of heart and ultimately leading to high blood pressure.

Causes of hypertension according to Ayurveda:

• Stress
• Increased accumulation of toxin in body
• Obesity
• Metabolic and chronic disorders like hyperthyroidism, acromegaly, Conn’s diseases, etc.
• Overindulgence of salty, sweet, savory, spicy, sour tastes in your food
• Over eating
• Smoking, alcohol and other addictions etc.

Signs and symptoms of Hypertensive/high blood pressure:

• Dizziness
• Headache
• Confusion
• Vertigo
• Palpitation
• Pain in chest and heart
• Inability to handle stress
• Fatigue
• Difficulty in breathing
• Morning stiffness etc.

Ayurveda body cure’s treatment plan for hypertension:

There are five limbs of Ayurveda towards the treatment of any disease viz. Herbal medications, detoxification, diet & lifestyle alteration, and exercise, yoga & breathing techniques.

Herbal medication:

After detailed consultation with the Ayurvedic consultant, an evaluation of your body constitution is done. Going further a herbal combination is prepared using herbs like haridra (Curcumma longa), sarpagandha (Rauvolfia serpentine), dhamasa(Fagonia arabica), kutki(Picrorhiza kurroa), patol(Trichosanthes dioica), jatamamsi (Nordostyachi jatamamsi), sonamukhi(Cassia Augustifolia), aragwad(Cassia fistula), vasa(Adhatoda vasica ), kantakari( Solanum surattense), daruharidra(Berberis aristata), arjun(Terminalia arjuna), gokshur(Tribulis terristres), gudduchi (Tinospora cordifolia), punarnava(Boerhavia diffusa) etc. This customized herbal medication is prepared considering your individual body constitution, nature of diseases, climatic conditions, and diet & lifestyle habits along with your other health issues.

Yoga postures and breathing techniques:

Yoga postures like setubandhasana, balasana, pachimotasana, vajrasana,sarvangasana, dhanurasana, chakrasana, ardha matsyendriyasana, etc help to control your blood pressure. It also helps in metabolism and also improves digestion resolving many other accessory health issues increasing your level of energy and fitness.

Breathing techniques or pranayam such as kapalbhati, anulom-villom, bhramari, etc help in doing the same.

Diet and lifestyle recommendation:

Hypertension is a lifestyle associated disorder. According to Ayurveda the first line of treatment to any disease is to rule out and stop the influence of causative factors. This helps to break the pathology even more effectively.

Food stuff that are heavy to digest, high in fatty acids, oily in nature, bakery products like bread, yogurt, biscuits, etc, fermented food, overindulgence of meat and sea food, etc aggravates hypertension. We evaluate your current diet and recommend you to slowly replace it alternative and healthy food such as mung, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower etc. This helps to control the blood pressure levels.

For DIET chart click here

Panchakarmao/Detox:

Detoxification is advised when necessary by the Ayurvedic consultant to flush out toxins out of your body. This multiplies the effect of the medications and also helps to restore the disturbed equilibrium of the body. Medicated emesis, medicated purgation or herbal enemas are suggested after consultation, considering the depth of your pathology and the disease condition.

Ayurveda body therapies:

Therapies like Abhyanga (relaxing full body massage), Mardana(Deep tissue massage), Pindasweda(herbal poultice massage), shiroabhyanga (head neck and shoulder massage), shirodhara (rhythmic oil flow over forehead), nasya (nasal medication), hriday basti (oil pool on sterna area), etc are suggested.

If hypertension is diagnosed and treated in its early stages the chances of reversal of the condition and patient may also get free from the disease.

Even in the chronic or late stage the disease threshold can be reduced and the frequency and intensity of hypertension is brought under control