Sunday, September 27, 2009

Hypertension

By Anju Mathur, M.D.

The strange thing about high blood pressure is the widespread physical damage it can cause before a single symptom appears. A person can be feeling just fine, yet that hypertension (another word for high blood pressure) is increasing risk of serious afflictions, including heart attack and stroke.

Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

The simple test for high blood pressure is done at every doctor's office every time you see a doctor. And high blood pressure can be controlled once it is detected.

Traditional medicine prescribes drugs to control hypertension. The drugs result in unwanted side effects, so more drugs are prescribed to control the side effects - it becomes a vicious circle. Beta-blockers, diuretics and calcium channel blockers are most usually prescribed for hypertension, but these are classes of drugs and there are hundreds of brand names and sizes of doses.

A leading cardiologist has recommended a group of three natural supplements to be used to control blood pressure - coenzyme Q-10, L carnitine and D-ribose. Studies have recently found that other herbal supplements help to lower blood pressure, too, but the above three are the main nutritional supplements given to naturally lower blood pressure without side effects.

Additionally, a healthy diet will help lower blood pressure. It is not necessary to eat only green leafy vegetables and fish to attain a healthy diet, but most people could use some moderation in their diets. A healthy diet also helps shed extra pounds which in turn helps lower blood pressure.

Just a walk around the block will make blood pressure go down. So is that a result of less stress or exercise? Both. A regular exercise program is necessary for a natural therapy for lowering blood pressure.

There's no need to resort to drugs and their side effects for a normal blood pressure. You can work with a nutritionist and doctor and use a combination of diet, supplements and exercise and get a better result.

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