- 06
- Oct
- 2022
A Better Solution for High Blood Pressure
Nearly half of adult Americans (47%, or 116 million people) have high blood pressure (also called hypertension). Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Arteries carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body.
Blood pressure rises and falls throughout the day, but high blood pressure (HBP) can damage your heart and cause other health problems if it stays high for too long. HBP leads to heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. It can also seriously damage important organs like your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.
Why do so many people suffer from HBP? Lifestyle plays a large role. Lack of activity, poor diet, gaining weight, and smoking are major contributors. Stress is a huge factor, because stress causes tension in your body. When your arteries become tense from stress, it is called hypertension – literally “excess tension” in your blood vessels.
Lifestyle changes can considerably lower blood pressure into a healthy range. Talk with your acupuncture physician about:
- Getting at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week (about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week)
- Not smoking
- Eating a healthy diet, including limiting sodium (salt) and alcohol
- Keeping a healthy weight
- Managing stress
For many others, managing blood pressure by lifestyle changes alone isn’t enough. Many people take prescription blood pressure medicine, which often has side effects. They can include dizziness, headaches, swelling in the legs or feet, or stomach problems. Men who take blood pressure medications can develop loss of libido or even impotence.
Acupuncture for High Blood Pressure
Fortunately, medication isn’t the only way to treat persistent blood pressure. At the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center, we use cutting-edge herbal formulas to naturally lower your blood pressure, without the risk of drug side effects. We combine it with a personalized course of acupuncture for a holistic and effective approach to HBP.
Acupuncture can effectively lower your response to stress and maintain your arteries in a more relaxed state. Under supervision, patients can benefit from our herbal blood pressure-lowering formulas when jointly combined with lifestyle improvements. We track our patients’ blood pressure levels and advise them to keep a home log of their blood pressure readings until we have restored their blood pressure to a normal range.
If you or someone you know suffers from high blood pressure, call us today at the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center at (904) 296-9545 to schedule an appointment to address this important issue. We love to help hearts be happier!