| High blood pressure, or hypertension, is not a medical | | | | conditions, including high blood pressure. You should |
| condition that can be taken lightly. It is a very serious | | | | always inform your doctor that you are using herbal |
| condition that can have fatal consequences not | | | | medicine as some prescription medecines and |
| treated correctly. The great majority of people who | | | | laboratory tests can be affected by the use of |
| have hypertension do not even know it since it has | | | | medicinal herbs. |
| no obvious symptoms that can not be attributed to | | | | Over the many centuries, herbal healing practitioners |
| other conditions such as headaches and dizziness. | | | | have discovered natural substances that can act as |
| It is because hypertension is so difficult to spot that | | | | natural remedies for high blood pressure. Garlic is a |
| every time you go to visit your healthcare provider a | | | | staple for treating this condition. Garlic contains |
| nurse takes your vital signs, including your heart rate | | | | chemicals called alliin, alliinase and allicin that help with |
| pulse, and blood pressure. These routine checks are | | | | blood flow to the heart and brain. However, garlic |
| how most hypertension cases are discovered. Once | | | | interacts badly with blood-thinners such as Warfarin, |
| diagnosed, it is essential that you undergo treatment | | | | and large doses of garlic used by pregnant women |
| for the condition, no matter whether you use | | | | can lead to miscarriage. Coleus leaves also have the |
| traditional medicine or natural remedies for high blood | | | | same ill effects as garlic. |
| pressure. Untreated, hypertension can lead to heart | | | | Hawthorn leaves and flowers are a very effective |
| failure and fatal strokes. | | | | natural remedy for high blood pressure without the |
| High blood pressure is normally treated by physicians | | | | negative effects of coleus and garlic. Hawthorn |
| with anti-hypertensive prescription medications like | | | | works by regulating the blood-pumping ability of the |
| Tiazac, Inderal, and others. The majority of these | | | | heart. Hawthorn normally comes in capsule form; you |
| medications have few, if any, significant side effects. | | | | should never exceed the recommended dosage as |
| They work by limiting the anount your blood | | | | this could lead to a dangerous drop in blood pressure. |
| pressure can rise. | | | | Olive leaves contain oleuropein, a substance that |
| However, some hypertension medications do have | | | | lowers blood pressure, reduces cholesterol and fights |
| side effects such as depression, and it may be that a | | | | infections. The ancient Greeks so highly prized these |
| particular drug may not be effective for you. You | | | | leaves becasue of their medicinal benefits that |
| may need to try several medications and dosages | | | | Olympic athletes were crowned with wreaths made |
| until your physician finds the right regime for you. | | | | of olive leaves. |
| Natural Remedies for High Blood Pressure | | | | Stevia leaves are the latest addition to the list of |
| In alternative medicine, biofeedback is often used as | | | | natural remedies for high blood pressure. Stevia is a |
| a more natural remedy for high blood pressure. This | | | | calorie-free sweetener that seems to reduce |
| treatment method involves the use of monitoring | | | | hypertension. More research is needed to ensure the |
| instruments that provide you with physiological | | | | effectiveness and safety of Stevia, it should only be |
| information about how your body is functioning, even | | | | used under the supervision of a doctor to avoid a |
| though you may be unaware of what is going on | | | | dangerous decrease in blood pressure. |
| inside you. Introduced in the 1960s, biofeedback | | | | Since hypertension too often hides from you until it is |
| allows you to actually control your autonomic nervous | | | | too late - you have already had a stroke or heart |
| system that controls heart rate, blood pressure and | | | | attack - consider investing in a home monitoring blood |
| gastrointestinal activity. | | | | pressure device. They are not expensive and are |
| A trained professional, typically a psychologist, | | | | easy to use, and they might just save your life. If |
| attaches electrodes to points on your head and | | | | you are a man of African American descent and if |
| chest. These electrodes collect data and pass it to a | | | | you are of any ethnic group over age 40, of either |
| monitoring device that allows you to see how your | | | | gender, you are more prone to this silent killer that |
| heart and brain are functioning. Through training in | | | | may be lurking within your central nervous system, |
| mental and physical exercises in relaxation, you learn | | | | especially if you have a family history of |
| to control your own breathing and heart rate. With | | | | hypertension. |
| practice you will no longer need the biofeedback | | | | Natural remedies for high blood pressure can |
| device; you can do it by yourself. | | | | effective as a preventative measure. So, it seems a |
| Herbal medicine is another kind of natural treatment | | | | good idea to prevent it before you experience the |
| for high blood pressure. In this type of alternative | | | | devastation it can cause. Just be sure to monitor |
| medicine, plants, herbs and tree bark a of a beneficial | | | | your blood pressure; if the 'top number' drops below |
| nature are used to prevent or treat certain medical | | | | 120, stop using the herbs and see your physician. |