Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a surprisingly common circulatory disease in western societies – and the incidence is increasing. Yet with proper lifestyle and diet, this condition can be easily prevented.

The early warning signs of hypertension include dizziness, headache, insomnia or disturbed sleep with lots of dreams, flushed complexion, and hot palms and feet. There is a tendency to ignore these symptoms, or else address them by taking aspirin or paracetamol, sleeping pills, or even tranqillizers. If the early stages of hypertension are ignored, and the symptoms suppressed with drugs, it may progress to a more serious stage.

Symptoms associated with the secondary stage of hypertension include slight palpitations, tight chest, constipation, anxiety attacks, shortness of breath, fatigue, extremely dry mouth, numbness of extremities, and dry eyes.

From there, the disease can develop into the potentially-dangerous chronic stage, manifesting in symptoms of angina, severe palpitations, extreme fatigue, weak or cold extremities, impotence, sexual dysfunction, extremely frequent urination, oedema, hot flushed face.

At the secondary stage, patients are usually prescribed anti-hypertensive drugs. The purpose of these drugs is to control the blood pressure, not to cure the problem.
Traditional Chinese Medicine separates hypertension into two categories.

Excess type of hypertension.

Deficient type of hypertension.

EXCESS TYPE:
This category of hypertension is caused by two different pathologies:
1.Phlegm Accumulation In The Heart.
People with this type of hypertension are usually obese. They like drinking, eating fatty food, spicy food and sweets. They are fatigued, depressed, and worried all the time, presenting symptoms like vertigo, heavy head and headache, insomnia, numbness in the extremities.
2.Liver Yang Rising.
These people have excess yang energy and deficient yin energy. They suffer chronic depression and anger. Depression and suppressed anger deplete liver yin, which causes liver yang to rise up. They have symptoms like dizziness which worsens with worry or anger, acute headaches, tinnitus, irritability, nose bleeding, thirst, stuffiness of the chest, disturbed sleep, bitter taste in the mouth, really red face. They also feel hot all the time.

DEFICIENT TYPE:
1.Liver and Kidney Exhaustion.
People with deficient type hypertension suffer chronic kidney dysfunction, which causes kidney exhaustion. They experience chronic anger, worry, fatigue. They drink alcohol and present symptoms such as vertigo, and loss of visual focus with the condition getting worse in the afternoon and evening, and during times of emotional stress. They suffer tinnitus, serious palpitations, tight chest, premature ejaculation, insomnia, headaches, and their head feels empty all the time.

2.Yin and Yang Exhaustion.

Yang-type sickness causes yin deficiency, which leads to yang deficiency. This is the chronic stage of hypertension, which can be very dangerous. It can lead to blood clots, stroke, aneurysm and myocardial infarction. Symptoms include severe dizziness and loss of clear eyesight. The head feels hollow, and they look very puffy, pale and cold. They do not like movement and prefer to lie down all the time. They suffer constant nagging headaches, and may have angina, tight chest, severe palpitations, loss of sexual function and vitality.

Those who have a family history of hypertension need to pay close attention to lifestyle and diet in order to prevent it. If one parent has hypertension, offspring have a 28 percent risk. This increases to 41 percent if both parents have the disease.
Avoid deep-fried, fatty food, alcohol and sweet food as much as possible.

Exercise regularly.

Maintain a positive mental attitude and avoid negative emotions such as anger, jealousy and depression.

In my clinical practice, treatments for hypertension include Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, biochemical nutrition and relaxation therapy. Traditional herbs such as crategus, dang-shen, polygonum, tienma are excellent. Acupuncture is used to reduce excessive liver energy, tonify the kidneys and calm the heart. CoEnzyme Q10, Scavenger Plus, Chelated Magnesium are effective nutritional supplements.

Hypertension is caused by multiple factors including emotional stress, poor diet, obesity, lack of exercise, noise, intake of salt, and heredity
To prevent hypertension:

Avoid gaining excess weight.

Take regular physical exercise, but no more than forty minutes per day.

Regulate salt intake.

Practise relaxation techniques: remember that stress is one of the major causes of hypertension.

As for eating meat: research produces divergent results. Some studies show that high meat consumption causes hypertension, while others indicate that low meat intake is the culprit because meat contains important minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium and calcium. This finding may explain why some very thin, anaemic vegetarians present hypertension.

One thing I find interesting is the connection between hypertension and colour and light. Red colour or light appears to make the condition worse, while light cream, green and blue colours appear to improve the condition.

This article was first published in the magazine “Nature and Health”

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