HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE (HYPERTENSION)

You can have high blood pressure (hypertension) for years without a single symptom. But silence isn't golden. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of serious health problems, 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. High blood pressure typically develops without signs or symptoms. And it affects nearly everyone eventually.

Fortunately, high blood pressure can be easily detected. And once you know you have high blood pressure, you can work with your doctor to control it. Most people with high blood pressure have no signs or symptoms, even if blood pressure readings reach dangerously high levels.

Although a few people with early-stage high blood pressure may have dull headaches, dizzy spells or a few more nosebleeds than normal, these signs and symptoms typically don't occur until high blood pressure has reached an advanced - possibly life-threatening - stage. In 90 percent to 95 percent of high bloodpressure cases, there's no identifiable cause. This type of high blood pressure, called essential hypertension or primary hypertension, tends to develop gradually over many years.

The other 5 percent to 10 percent of high blood pressure cases are caused by an underlying condition. This type of high blood pressure, called secondary hypertension, tends to appear suddenly and cause higher blood pressure than does primary hypertension. Various conditions can lead to secondary hypertension, including kidney abnormalities, tumors of the adrenal gland or certain congenital heart defects. Certain medications - including birth control pills, cold remedies, decongestants, over-the-counter pain relievers and some prescription drugs - also may cause secondary hypertension.

In a 2005 study, women who took an average of 500 milligrams or more of acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) daily over several years were more likely to develop high blood pressure than were women who didn't take any acetaminophen. It's not known if the same holds true for men. Various illicit drugs, including cocaine and amphetamines, also can increase blood pressure. High blood pressure has many risk factors.

Some you can't control.

Age

Race

Family history

Excess weight

Inactivity

Tobacco use

Sodium intake

Low potassium intake

Excessive alcohol

Stress

Certain chronic conditions also may increase your risk of high blood pressure, including high cholesterol, diabetes, kidney disease and sleep apnea. Sometimes pregnancy contributes to high blood pressure. Excessive pressure on the artery walls can damage your vital organs. The higher your blood pressure and the longer it goes uncontrolled, the greater the damage.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to:

Damage to your arteries

Heart failure

A blocked or ruptured blood vessel in your brain

Weakened and narrowed blood vessels in your kidneys

Thickened, narrowed or torn blood vessels in the eyes.
This can result in vision loss

Metabolic syndrome

Uncontrolled high blood pressure also may affect your ability to think, remember and learn. Cognitive impairment and dementia are more common in people who have high blood pressure.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

Treating high blood pressure can help prevent serious - even life-threatening - complications. Your doctor also may suggest steps to control conditions that can contribute to high blood pressure, such as diabetes and high cholesterol. Blood pressure goals aren't the same for everyone. Although everyone should strive for blood pressure readings below 140/90, doctors recommend lower readings for people with certain conditions.

Blood Pressure Treatment Goals

Changing your lifestyle can go a long way toward controlling high blood pressure. But sometimes lifestyle changes aren't enough. In addition to diet and exercise, your doctor may recommend medication to lower your blood pressure. Which category of medication your doctor prescribes depends on your stage of high blood pressure and whether you also have other medical conditions. To reduce the number of doses you need a day, which can reduce side effects, your doctor may prescribe a combination of low-dose medications rather than larger doses of one single drug. In fact, two or more blood pressure drugs often work better than one. Sometimes finding the most effective medication - or combination of drugs - is a matter of trial and error.

The major types of medication used to control high blood pressure include:

Thiazide diuretics.

Beta blockers.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

Angiotensin II receptor blockers

Calcium channel blockers.

Renin inhibitors.

Alpha blockers

Alpha-beta blockers

Central-acting agents

Vasodilators

Once your blood pressure is under control, your doctor may add aspirin to your regimen to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disorders.

ACUPUNCTURE and HYPERTENSION

1. With the help of the patient's medical records and the use of Chinese diagnosis we can find the cause of the patient's high blood pressure.

2. In most cases anger, fear, anxiety, worry will build up cholesterol, this will make the arteries smaller. We will work together with the patient to reduce their emotional condition.

3. We will adjust hormone imbalance. Function of hyper thyroid, hyper adrenal and sometimes pituitary disorder.

4. The organs in the body are all related, if one organ has a problem this can cause circulation problems to all the organs. We will treat the body as a whole, instead of taking medication for the symptoms.

5. Eliminating salt from the patient's food intake is very important.

6. There are many reasons for constriction and obstruction of the arteries causing circulation problems.

7. By correcting the function of the organs and the bodies different systems with the use of acupuncture, herbs, and our Hi-Tech Energy machine

8. Exercise, relaxing meditation, and fun are important to balance patient's condition.