Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a chronic condition affecting more than 3 million Americans per year. This condition is when an individual’s blood pressure, or the force of blood pushing against arterial walls, is higher than a BP of 140/90. As medicine has developed in recent years, many different practices and studies have been made in order to combat and treat this condition, including various drug treatments, diet, and alternative medicine. But what is high blood pressure and what are the symptoms and risks of it?
High Blood Pressure: Background, Symptoms, Risks:
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a chronic condition that is characterized by a high BP (140/90 or higher). This condition is common among the elderly, and the risk of developing high blood pressure increases as an individual ages.
Hypertension normally presents few, if any, symptoms, because of this, hypertension is referred to as a “silent killer,” often causing damage over time while individuals are unaware.
Because hypertension is able to silently cause damage, individuals with hypertension are at higher risk for heart failure, stroke, and heart attacks, among other cardiovascular issues. Additionally to these direct risks, hypertension also tends to result in high LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Hypertension causes tears to occur within arterial walls, where LDL cholesterol can then accumulate. This not only puts the individual at risk for high LDL related diseases but also continues to stress the individual's cardiovascular system, promoting the effects of hypertension.
Treatment Options:
Modern medicine and other practices have provided various treatment options to combat and control hypertension, including: drug treatments, diet, and alternative medicine.
Drug Treatments:
Common drug treatments for hypertension include: diuretics, β-blockers (beta-blockers), and ACE inhibitors, among others.
Diuretics are a popular drug treatment option, and they work by flushing out excess salts in the body as well as relaxing vessel diameter, allowing for more fluid blood flow. Diuretics are found to also help lower the risk of stroke and heart failure in hypertensive patients. However, there are several debates over the pros and cons of using diuretics to treat hypertension. Although diuretics effectively lower blood pressure and lower the risk of stroke and heart failure, they also increase the risks of hyponatremia and renal cell carcinoma (a type of kidney cancer), and can increase total cholesterol levels.
β-blockers, also known as beta-adrenergic blocking agents, are another common drug treatment for hypertension. β-blockers work by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline. By blocking the effects of epinephrine, β-blockers allow for the heart to beat slower and with less force, effectively reducing blood pressure. β-blockers also help relax blood vessel diameter, improving blood flow. However, β-blockers aren’t a recommended medication for first treatment medication, especially if the only condition is hypertension. Normally, β-blockers are only recommended after the use of diuretics was ineffective for the individual. Likewise, β-blockers may be used as one of several medications to combat hypertension. Possible side effects of β-blockers include insomnia or cold hands and feet.
ACE inhibitors, or Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, are also used to combat and control hypertension. Angiotensin is a chemical that causes blood vessels to contract, angiotensin-converting enzymes are the enzymes that are responsible for converting angiotensin into its active form. By inhibiting these enzymes from activating angiotensin, less angiotensin is produced, thus allowing blood vessels to relax, and in turn lowers blood pressure. ACE inhibitors are also used to treat and improve symptoms of conditions like heart failure, heart attack, or diabetes. ACE inhibitors are also commonly prescribed along with other drug treatments such as diuretics. Possible side effects of ACE inhibitors include skin rashes, or a chronic cough.
Diet:
Diet is another common treatment and prevention method for hypertension. Changing dietary habits by reducing sodium intake and increasing potassium intake are main ways to help control and prevent hypertension. By reducing salt intake, diuretic medications become more effective, and your body holds onto less fluid. By reducing the amount of fluid volume, your cardiovascular system has to circulate a smaller volume of fluid, therefore reducing the stress the cardiovascular system sustains, and lowering blood pressure.
Increasing potassium intake also aids in reducing sodium levels. Potassium is a mineral that offsets sodium within your body, the higher potassium levels an individual has, the more sodium will be lost through urine, thus lowering sodium levels. Potassium is also responsible for relaxing blood vessel walls, thus reducing blood pressure by improving blood flow.
Alternative Medicine:
Hypertension is caused by many different factors, one main factor being stress, both emotional and psychological. As a result, various alternative practices aimed at reducing stress likewise helps to combat hypertension.
Qigong, a traditional chinese medicine that combines movement, breathing, and meditation, was shown to reduce stress levels, as well as promote parasympathetic nervous system activity. By promoting parasympathetic activity, the body is able to reduce heart rate and relax blood flow, effectively combating high blood pressure. Meditation has similar results: promoting parasympathetic activity, which reduces heart rate and relaxes blood vessel diameter, effectively lowering blood pressure.
These alternative practices, since they aid in lowering blood pressure, as a result also help reduce an individual's dependence on traditional medications. This allows for a lower dose of a prescription to have the same effects.
In the end, hypertension is an ongoing question in modern medicine, and hypertension is specific to each individual, so finding a method that works for you is crucial in controlling your hypertension. What works for one individual may not work for another. As modern medicine advances it’s becoming clearer and clearer that a happy marriage between conventional and alternative medicine along with a healthy lifestyle prove to be the most effective method.
Sources:
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“What Are the Symptoms of High Blood Pressure?” Www.heart.org, www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/why-high-blood-pressure-is-a-silent-killer/what-are-the-symptoms-of-high-blood-pressure.
“Health Threats From High Blood Pressure.” Www.heart.org, www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/health-threats-from-high-blood-pressure.
“Types of Blood Pressure Medications.” Www.heart.org, www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/types-of-blood-pressure-medications.
Grossman, Ehud, et al. “Diuretic Treatment of Hypertension.” Diabetes Care, American Diabetes Association, May 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3632199/.
“What You Should Know about Beta Blockers.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 16 Aug. 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/beta-blockers/art-20044522.
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Aubrey, Allison. “To Lower Blood Pressure, Open Up And Say 'Om'.” NPR, NPR, 21 Aug. 2008, www.npr.org/2008/08/21/93796200/to-lower-blood-pressure-open-up-and-say-om.
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