TYPES OF BLOOD PRESSURE

• Malignant hypertension
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Portal hypertension
• Low blood pressure(hypotension)
• Postural hypotension

CAUSES

Primary hypertension

Primary hypertension is also called essential hypertension. This kind of hypertension develops over time with no identifiable cause. Most people have this type of high blood pressure.

Researchers are still unclear what mechanisms cause blood pressure to slowly increase. A combination of factors may play a role. These factors include:

• Genes: Some people are genetically predisposed to hypertension. This may be from gene mutations or genetic abnormalities inherited from your parents.
• Physical changes: If something in your body changes, you may begin experiencing issues throughout your body. High blood pressure may be one of those issues. For example, it’s thought that changes in your kidney function due to aging may upset the body’s natural balance of salts and fluid. This change may cause your body’s blood pressure to increase.
• Environment: Over time, unhealthy lifestyle choices like lack of physical activity and poor diet can take their toll on your body. Lifestyle choices can lead to weight problems. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for hypertension.

Secondary hypertension

Secondary hypertension often occurs quickly and can become more severe than primary hypertension. Several conditions that may cause secondary hypertension include:

• kidney disease
• obstructive sleep apnea
• congenital heart defects
• problems with your thyroid
• side effects of medications
• use of illegal drugs
• alcohol abuse or chronic use
• adrenal gland problems
• certain endocrine tumors

SYMPTOMS

If your blood pressure is extremely high, there may be certain symptoms to look out for, including:

• Severe headaches
• Nosebleed
• Fatigue or confusion
• Vision problems
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Irregular heartbeat
• Blood in the urine
• Pounding in your chest, neck, or ears

People sometimes feel that other symptoms may be related to high blood pressure, but they may not be:

• Dizziness
• Nervousness
• Sweating
• Trouble sleeping
• Facial flushing
• Blood spots in eyes

RISK FACTORS

High blood pressure has many risk factors, including:

• Age: The risk of high blood pressure increases as you age. Until about age 64, high blood pressure is more common in men. Women are more likely to develop high blood pressure after age 65.
• Race: High blood pressure is particularly common among people of African heritage, often developing at an earlier age than it does in whites. Serious complications, such as stroke, heart attack and kidney failure, also are more common in people of African heritage.
• Family history: High blood pressure tends to run in families.
• Being overweight or obese: The more you weigh, the more blood you need to supply oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. As the amount of blood blow through your blood vessels increases, so does the pressure on your artery walls
• Not being physically active
• Using tobacco
• Too much salt (sodium) in your diet
• Too little potassium in your diet.
• Drinking too much alcohol.
• Stress
• Certain chronic conditions: Certain chronic conditions also may increase your risk of high blood pressure, including kidney disease, diabetes and sleep apnea
• Pregnancy

Although high blood pressure is most common in adults, children may be at risk, too. For some children, high blood pressure is caused by problems with the kidneys or heart. But for a growing number of kids, poor lifestyle habits — such as an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise — contribute to high blood pressure.

COMPLICATIONS

The excessive pressure on your artery walls caused by high blood pressure can damage your blood vessels as well as your organs. The higher your blood pressure and the longer it goes uncontrolled, the greater the damage.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to complications including

• Heart attack or stroke.High blood pressure can cause hardening and thickening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other complications.
• Aneurysm.Increased blood pressure can cause your blood vessels to weaken and bulge, forming an aneurysm. If an aneurysm ruptures, it can be life-threatening.
• Heart failure.To pump blood against the higher pressure in your vessels, the heart has to work harder. This causes the walls of the heart's pumping chamber to thicken (left ventricular hypertrophy). Eventually, the thickened muscle may have a hard time pumping enough blood to meet your body's needs, which can lead to heart failure.
• Weakened and narrowed blood vessels in your kidneys.This can prevent these organs from functioning normally.
• Thickened, narrowed or torn blood vessels in the eyes. This can result in vision loss.
• Metabolic syndrome.This syndrome is a group of disorders of your body's metabolism, including increased waist size, high triglycerides, decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol), high blood pressure and high insulin levels. These conditions make you more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
• Trouble with memory or understanding.Uncontrolled high blood pressure may also affect your ability to think, remember and learn. Trouble with memory or understanding concepts is more common in people with high blood pressure.
• Dementia. Narrowed or blocked arteries can limit blood flow to the brain, leading to a certain type of dementia (vascular dementia). A stroke that interrupts blood flow to the brain also can cause vascular dementia.

PREVENTION

• Eating a healthy diet.
• Getting regular exercise.
• Being at a healthy weight.
• Limiting alcohol
• Not smoking.
• Managing stress.

If you already have high blood pressure, it is important to prevent it from getting worse or causing complications

DIAGNOSIS

• Ambulatory monitoring.This 24-hour blood pressure monitoring test is used to confirm if you have high blood pressure. The device used for this test measures your blood pressure at regular intervals over a 24-hour period and provides a more accurate picture of blood pressure changes over an average day and night. However, these devices aren't available in all medical centers, and they may not be reimbursed.
• Lab tests.Your doctor may recommend a urine test (urinalysis) and blood tests, including a cholesterol test.
• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG).This quick and painless test measures your heart's electrical activity.
• Echocardiogram.Depending on your signs and symptoms and test results, your doctor may order an echocardiogram to check for more signs of heart disease. An echocardiogram uses sound waves to produce images of the heart.

Blood pressure measurements fall into several categories:

• Normal BP: Systolic but 120 mm Hg; diastolic but 80
• Elevated BP: Systolic is between 120 and 129 mm Hg; diastolic less than 80
• Stage 1 High BP: Systolic is 130–139 or your diastolic is between 80-89
• Stage 2 High BP: 140 or greater systolic and 90 or greater diastolic
• Hypertensive crisis. A blood pressure measurement higher than 180/120 mm Hg is an emergency situation that requires urgent medical care.

Both numbers in a blood pressure reading are important. But after age 50, the systolic reading is even more important. Isolated systolic hypertension is a condition in which the diastolic pressure is normal (less than 80 mm Hg) but systolic pressure is high (greater than or equal to 130 mm Hg). This is a common type of high blood pressure among people older than 65.

TREATMENT

Changing your lifestyle can help control and manage high blood pressure. Your doctor may recommend that you make lifestyle changes including:

• Eating a heart-healthy diet with less salt
• Getting regular physical activity
• Maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight if you're overweight or obese
• Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink

But sometimes lifestyle changes aren't enough. If diet and exercise don't help, your doctor may recommend medication to lower your blood pressure.

Medications

You should aim for a blood pressure treatment goal of less than 130/80 mm Hg if:

• You're a healthy adult age 65 or older
• You're a healthy adult younger than age 65 with a 10% or higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the next 10 years
• You have chronic kidney disease, diabetes or coronary artery disease

Medications used to treat high blood pressure include:

• Diuretics. Diuretics, sometimes called water pills, are medications that help your kidneys eliminate sodium and water from the body. These drugs are often the first medications tried to treat high blood pressure.
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. These medications — such as lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), benazepril (Lotensin), captopril and others — help relax blood vessels by blocking the formation of a natural chemical that narrows blood vessels.
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). These medications relax blood vessels by blocking the action, not the formation, of a natural chemical that narrows blood vessels. ARBs include candesartan (Atacand), losartan (Cozaar) and others
• Calcium channel blockers. These medications — including amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem, Tiazac, others) and others — help relax the muscles of your blood vessels. Some slow your heart rate.

Additional medications sometimes used to treat high blood pressure

If you're having trouble reaching your blood pressure goal with combinations of the above medications, your doctor may prescribe:

• Alpha blockers.These medications reduce nerve signals to blood vessels, lowering the effects of natural chemicals that narrow blood vessels.
• Alpha-beta blockers.Alpha-beta blockers block nerve signals to blood vessels and slow the heartbeat to reduce the amount of blood that must be pumped through the vessels.
• Beta blockersThese medications reduce the workload on your heart and widen your blood vessels, causing your heart to beat slower and with less force
• Aldosterone antagonists. These drugs also are considered diuretics.These drugs block the effect of a natural chemical that can lead to salt and fluid buildup, which can contribute to high blood pressure. They may be used to treat resistant hypertension.
• Renin inhibitors.Aliskiren (Tekturna) slows the production of renin, an enzyme produced by your kidneys that starts a chain of chemical steps that increases blood pressure.
• Vasodilators.They work directly on the muscles in the walls of your arteries, preventing the muscles from tightening and your arteries from narrowing
• Central-acting agents. These medications prevent your brain from telling your nervous system to increase your heart rate and narrow your blood vessels.

Treating resistant hypertension

If your blood pressure remains stubbornly high despite taking at least three different types of high blood pressure drugs, one of which usually should be a diuretic, you may have resistant hypertension.

Treating resistant hypertension may involve many steps, including:

• Changing your high blood pressure medications to determine which combinations and doses work best
• Making healthy lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy diet with less salt, maintaining a healthy weight and limiting alcohol

Lifestyle and home remedies

• Eat healthy foods.
• Decrease the salt in your diet.
• Maintain a healthy weight.Increase physical activity.
• Limit alcohol
• Don't smoke.
• Manage stress.
• Monitor your blood pressure at home
• Practice relaxation or slow, deep breathing.
• Control blood pressure during pregnancy

EFFECTIVENESS OF ACUPUNCTURE

A new study suggests that acupuncture may benefit patients with high BP and lower their risk of stroke and heart condition. It is considered as one of the best remedies for both high blood pressure and low blood pressure. Studies found that acupuncture lowers BP is said to improve the regulation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, vascular endothelium, oxidative stress, neuroendocrine system and so on, by offering relief to the patients.

• Clinical studies have proven that inflammation exists in hypertensive patients and it is involved within the pathogenesis of hypertension. All the evidence suggests that acupuncture is the best therapy that can reduce inflammatory factors, which may affect the RAAS system and endothelial function, resulting in providing remedy for BP
• Low Blood pressure: Acupuncture is associated with multiple biological responses. Responses are associated with the stimulation of sensory neurons that hook up with structures within the central systema nervosum acting as a remedy for BP.
• This results in activation of pathways affecting various physiological systems within the brain also as within the periphery. Stimulation with acupuncture has also been found to activate the hypothalamus and the pituitary glands, resulting in a broad spectrum of systemic effects which is the best cure for BP.
• Alteration in the secretion of neurotransmitters and neurohormones and changes in the regulation of blood flow, both centrally and peripherally, have also been documented. Their research also revealed that one mechanism by which acupuncture raises blood pressure is by increasing venous filling in the left ventricle and thereby improving left ventricle performance, acting as a best treatment for Blood pressure.

MECHANISM OF ACUPUNCTURE

• Acupuncture may be a traditional Chinese medicine that has been in use for over 3,000 years. It uses thin needles to stimulate one or more out of many specific points on the body to provide relief for blood pressure symptoms
• By using needles at specific points on these meridians, acupuncturists believe it will re-balance the body’s natural energy flow and relieve symptoms of disease, stimulation of acupuncture points by puncturing the skin with hair-thin needles may cause neurotoxin release by the brain and medulla spinalis of opium-like molecules to cure BP.
• Acupuncture releases natural painkillers. Inserting a needle sends a sign through the systema nervosum to the brain, where chemicals like endorphins, norepinephrine, and enkephalin are released making this the best remedy for Blood pressure

Best cure for Blood Pressure:

Looking for a best remedy to treat blood pressure in chennai, here’s why you should reach out to the best Acupuncturist Shaji Bharath from Dr.Bharath’s AcuHeal. He is currently treating patients for a wide range of conditions. As a certified acupuncture practitioner with 15 years of experience and having worked with several General physicians and Cardiologists, Acupuncturist. A. Shaji Bharath has seen Acupuncture doing wonders on people suffering from blood pressure and it is considered as the best therapy. The effectiveness rate increases several times just with one course of Acupuncture and it can help alleviate the symptoms and address various conditions such as high cholesterol, heart attacks, heart rhythm disorders, heart valve problems and disorders of the blood vessels, helping patients get back to their normal routine at the earliest, by evaluating your condition and offering appropriate treatment. Most of the people swear by acupuncture, citing it as a ‘miracle’ to improving their quality of life, that focuses on injuries and conditions of your body's cardiovascular system, which allows you to move, work, and be active.

Dial: +91 9884746916 or Visit: drbharathsacuheal.com for more details on treating both High and low Blood pressure using Acupuncture, contact the top acupuncture clinic in chennai.

BEST ACUPUNCTURE DOCTOR NEAR ME

To choose the Best doctor for Acupuncture, it's important that the Acupuncturist should have a decade of experience and treated at least 1000 to 2000 patients.

You can also search for the Best Acupuncture Doctor near me or ask your primary care physician to refer an experienced Acupuncturist nearby. Once you find the Best Acupuncture Doctor in Chennai, you may go through their google reviews first and then fix an appointment with the doctor only when you are satisfied with the reviews.

The Best Acupuncture Doctor should address your concerns and help you feel more comfortable before your first session. Acupuncture usually takes numerous sessions or several weeks to get a complete cure in any ailment but within 3 or 4 sessions the patients will experience positive differences.

Best Acupuncture Clinic near me

There are numerous clinics popping up and it is sometimes skeptical to choose the best or even the safe one. To address such concerns, you can look into the following points to choose the best acupuncture clinic for treating blood pressure. Acupuncture is also offered in hospital, pain clinics and by healthcare organizations but it is ideal to visit the best Acupuncture Clinic. If you are not sure, it would be a good idea to contact your local doctor to see if they would be prepared to refer to the best rated acupuncture clinics. Acupuncture is offered in top rated acupuncture clinics near me because conventional treatment has failed or produces unacceptable side effects. Most of the best acupuncture clinics will spell out very clearly what type of acupuncture they practice and how professional they are - at present anyone can set themselves up as an acupuncturist but reputable practitioners will belong to an organization. So while you are filtering the best clinics for acupuncture that treats blood pressure, you can look out for these factors. Treatment without drugs for blood pressure is possible through acupuncture and it gives the best result.

We have been rewarded a 5-star rating from Google & Practo. You can also check the reviews there.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Early detection is important. Regular blood pressure readings can help you and your doctor notice any changes. If your blood pressure is elevated, your doctor may have you check your blood pressure over a few weeks to see if the number stays elevated or falls back to normal levels.

Hypertension can be treated by acupuncture without any side effects and it gives the best result . If the condition isn’t treated, it could lead to health issues, including heart attack and stroke. Dial +91 9884746916 or Visit: drbharathsacuheal.com for more details.

Scientific References:

• Medical news today- Written by Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. on August 21, 2015 - Medically reviewed by William Morrison, M.D.
• Gupta R., Gupta S. Hypertension in India: Trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment and control. RUHS Journal of Health Sciences. 2017;2(1):40–46.
• Everett B., Zajacova A. Gender differences in hypertension and hypotension awareness among young adults. Biodemography and Social Biology. 2015;61(1):1–17. doi: 10.1080/19485565.2014.929488.

FAQ:

What are the services provided for blood pressure by Dr. Bharath’s Acu Heal?

At Dr. Bharath’s Acu Heal, treat Blood Pressure with Acupuncture solely. Generally, during the first few sessions, there will be positive changes in the symptoms, and Blood Pressure drops down considerably, except for few others, their Blood Pressure drops down after a few weeks of treatment. The patient will be advised on a diet with food restrictions, exercise regime which includes a sound sleep that plays a vital role in reversing the disease.

What are the benefits of acupuncture for blood pressure?

This is a drugless therapy and there are no side effects. Patients with high blood pressure usually need to take medication for many years. After several courses of treatment, your blood pressure may be slightly lower than your actual value and you can start to reduce your previous medications.

How many sessions of acupuncture do you need for blood pressure?

It takes up to 30 to 40 sessions of about 4 to 5 months to get cured