Acupuncture for hypertension
Acupuncture treatment and Chinese Herbal Medicine consultations in central London, W8, W11, W14, SW3, SW5, Kensington and South Kensington, South West London, SW14, SW15, SW18, SW19, Earlsfields, Southfields and Wimbledon
Call 07720773890 now for more information and to book your free 15 minutes consultation
What is Hypertension?
Hypertension is a condition in which the blood pressure is persistently higher than normal. It is more common in men than women, especially from middle age onwards. High blood pressure puts extra strain on the heart and the circulatory system. It poses a serious risk to health by increasing likelihood of coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. Occasionally, it can give rise to other serious complications.
The increased risk relates not only to how high your blood pressure is but for how long it has remained raised.
What causes hypertension and who is at risk?
There is very often no single direct cause of hypertension. For many people, high blood pressure is a natural consequence of getting older; this is known as ‘essential hypertension’.
There is some evidence that essential hypertension is genetically linked.
A number of factors can increase the risk of hypertension or make the problem worse.
These include: lack of exercise, stress, smoking, obesity, excess alcohol consumption
What are the common symptoms and complications of hypertension? Essential hypertension produces few, if any, specific symptoms. It is often diagnosed by chance when your blood pressure is measured as part of a routine health check. When very severe, hypertension can cause breathlessness headaches dizziness
Hypertension is a condition in which the blood pressure is persistently higher than normal. It is more common in men than women, especially from middle age onwards. High blood pressure puts extra strain on the heart and the circulatory system. It poses a serious risk to health by increasing likelihood of coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. Occasionally, it can give rise to other serious complications.
The increased risk relates not only to how high your blood pressure is but for how long it has remained raised.
What causes hypertension and who is at risk?
There is very often no single direct cause of hypertension. For many people, high blood pressure is a natural consequence of getting older; this is known as ‘essential hypertension’.
There is some evidence that essential hypertension is genetically linked.
A number of factors can increase the risk of hypertension or make the problem worse.
These include: lack of exercise, stress, smoking, obesity, excess alcohol consumption
What are the common symptoms and complications of hypertension? Essential hypertension produces few, if any, specific symptoms. It is often diagnosed by chance when your blood pressure is measured as part of a routine health check. When very severe, hypertension can cause breathlessness headaches dizziness
What can you do about hypertension?
Once you have been diagnosed as having hypertension, it is important to visit your doctor regularly to have your blood pressure measured. This enables a regular record to be built up and the progress of your hypertension to be monitored.
Prescribed Medicines
In more serious cases medication (usually in the form of tablets) may be prescribed. There are many different types of medicines for high blood pressure but some of the most common are known as beta blockers. By relaxing the muscle around the arteries and slowing the heart rate, these drugs tend to increase the flow of blood through the arteries which results in a drop in pressure. Other drugs called calcium channel blockers (such as nifedipine) are also commonly prescribed.
These medicine do have side effects;, once they have reduced your blood pressure, you must keep taking them. They are only a treatment not a cure. It is therefore best to do as much as possible to lower your blood pressure using lifestyle and dietary changes, as well as alternative andcomplementary medicine treatment You must not stop taking your prescribed medication whithout telling your doctor first; your blood pressure must be frequently monitored and your doctor will want to be certain it is safe toreduce medication.
Once you have been diagnosed as having hypertension, it is important to visit your doctor regularly to have your blood pressure measured. This enables a regular record to be built up and the progress of your hypertension to be monitored.
Prescribed Medicines
In more serious cases medication (usually in the form of tablets) may be prescribed. There are many different types of medicines for high blood pressure but some of the most common are known as beta blockers. By relaxing the muscle around the arteries and slowing the heart rate, these drugs tend to increase the flow of blood through the arteries which results in a drop in pressure. Other drugs called calcium channel blockers (such as nifedipine) are also commonly prescribed.
These medicine do have side effects;, once they have reduced your blood pressure, you must keep taking them. They are only a treatment not a cure. It is therefore best to do as much as possible to lower your blood pressure using lifestyle and dietary changes, as well as alternative andcomplementary medicine treatment You must not stop taking your prescribed medication whithout telling your doctor first; your blood pressure must be frequently monitored and your doctor will want to be certain it is safe toreduce medication.
Self help for Hypertension:
If your blood pressure is only slightly adopting a more healthy lifestyle may be enough to lower it.
Stop smoking: and add 20 years to your life expectancy
Lose weight: obesity is a major cause of hypertension
Take regular, low intensity, prolonged exercise.
Improve your diet: Eat less fatty food, reduce salt intake. Eat more fresh fruits, vegetables, oily fish, foods high in fibre, high in potassium such as potatoes, spinach, lentils and beans; eat a lot of garlic, olive oil.
Avoid stress, Learn to relax, take on a hobby.
Moderate alcohol intake: no morethan a glass of wine a day.
Take garlic,1500 to 6000 mg a day, and coenzyme Q10, 200 to 300 mg a day, in combination to lower blood pressure.
Take olive leaf infusions or tablets
Take a low-dose aspirin: follow the advice of your GP
Complementary therapy : A variety of complementary treatments are available and do not have harmful effects. Among the most effective in reducing or managing hypertension are;
Acupuncture: can lower blood pressure rapidly and keep it down
Aromatherapy: for stress related hypertension
Homeopathy: reduce quickly stress and anxiety
Herbal medicine: some plants have a proven effect in lowering blood pressure
In this study, 160 patients in Germany and China with mild to moderate hypertension were randomized to receive either acupuncture (performed by Chinese physicians accredited in acupuncture) or a sham procedure. The sham procedure consisted of identical acupuncture sessions, complete with needle insertions - but the insertion points were not the precise sites prescribed by traditional Chinese medicine for treating blood pressure. Both groups of patients underwent 22 sessions of 30 minutes each over a period of six weeks.
At the end of that time, the systolic and diastolic blood pressures in patients receiving traditional Chinese acupuncture were significantly reduced (by approximately 5 mm Hg and 3 mm Hg, respectively). Unfortunately, when acupuncture was discontinued their blood pressures returned to baseline values within three months. This level of blood pressure reduction is roughly the same as would typically occur with single-drug therapy or with aggressive lifestyle changes (exercise and salt restriction).
Pj Cousin is a full member of the British Acupuncture Council and of the Unified Register of herbal Practitioners
Acupuncture at Cure by Nature
95 Replingham Road, London SW18 5LU
Tel: 07720773890
For a map Click here
Appointment available weekdays only
95 Replingham Road, London SW18 5LU
Tel: 07720773890
For a map Click here
Appointment available weekdays only
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
is one of the oldest and most mysterious form of health care, the first book on this subject is about 2500 years old, and there are indications that the Chinese were already using a crude form of TCM 4000 years ago.
Today, this medical system is widely used in China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea and all around Asia; in China alone there are 2500 hospitals specialising in TCM. This complex medical system is taught in 30 Chinese universities, to thousands of students from 120 different countries.
is one of the oldest and most mysterious form of health care, the first book on this subject is about 2500 years old, and there are indications that the Chinese were already using a crude form of TCM 4000 years ago.
Today, this medical system is widely used in China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea and all around Asia; in China alone there are 2500 hospitals specialising in TCM. This complex medical system is taught in 30 Chinese universities, to thousands of students from 120 different countries.
Acupuncture at Cure By Nature
95 Replingham Road
London SW18 5LU
tel: 020 88751101
For a map Click here
Appointment available Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays
95 Replingham Road
London SW18 5LU
tel: 020 88751101
For a map Click here
Appointment available Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays
Acupuncture London: fertility clinics of acupuncture and complementary medicine at 95 Replingham Road london SW18 5LU