High Blood Pressure - How to Detect and Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a silent killer. It can set you up for heart attacks and strokes, which is why hypertension symptoms should never be ignored!

There are multiple causes of high blood pressure, but the good news is that you can lowering blood pressure naturally, without drugs and toxic side effects!

Elevated Blood Pressure - Hypertension

Blood pressure is the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels. It is read in two measurements, systolic, and diastolic:

• Systolic peak pressure at the beginning of the cardiac cycle
• Diastolic the lowest pressure of the resting phase of the cardiac cycle

This table is a general reference for the values used to determine whether a person in fact has high blood pressure.

Readings are taken by an instrument called a Sphygmomanometer. There are manual models which consist of an inflatable cuff, a stethoscope, and a manometer, which is a dial with numbers on it to register the actual pressure.

These devices also come in electronic versions, which are easier to use for the average person. Taking your own readings can alert you to changes in your blood pressure and allow you the option of trying to lowering blood pressure naturally.

The way that blood pressure cuffs fit the arm is critical to getting an accurate reading. For obese persons, and large muscular people, the cuff may not be large enough to fit properly. Practitioners may also use the wrong arm position when taking readings.

When taking blood pressure readings, the following should be observed:

• The width of the cuff should be 40% of the circumference of the arm
• The arm should be slightly flexed at the elbow and held at heart level
• The person having their pressure taken should not be speaking
• There should be an effort to ensure the person is completely relaxed
• Readings that are high should be repeated to ensure accuracy

Remember that pressure readings can vary a great deal due to things like anxiety, stress, vigorous exercise ect. To get an accurate measure, it is necessary to take a number of readings over time to account for various factors that can affect them.

Causes of High Blood Pressure

There are two types of lowering blood pressure naturally:

• Primary hypertension – no identifiable cause but thought to be related to genetic influences
• Secondary hypertension – due various disorders of bodily function

The following are among the secondary causes:

• Kidney disease
• Hormonal disorders
• Atherosclerosis due to insulin resistance
• Sleep apnea
• Scleroderma
• Neurofibromatosis
• Pregnancy
• Cancer
• Anemia
• Fever
• Drugs
• Heavy alcohol use
• Malformed aorta

Complications of Hypertension

High blood pressure can lead to a number of life threatening conditions. Among them are:

• Stroke – blockages of ruptures of blood vessels in the brain
• Heart Attacks – from arterial blockages
• Heart Failure – inability of the heart to pump blood due to arterial pressure
• Kidney Failure – damage to kidneys from high arterial pressure

How Blood Pressure Relates to the Aging Process

Blood pressure tends to increase with age, even if you don’t specifically have clinically diagnosed hypertension. This is due to a number of factors, many if not all of which ARE under your control! Which means that you can lower blood pressure naturally.

• Changes in hormonal profiles
• Weakening of the heart muscle
• Negative changes in blood vessels
• Negative dietary changes that tend to occur with age

If you are getting the sense that hypertension is a complex problem almost bordering on the mysterious, then you are not alone. Even the experts are unsure about the causes, but by the end of the second section you will understand what to do about it.

In part two of this article, I will delve even deeper into this issue and finish with steps that you should take to deal with hypertension. I DO believe that it is reversible, and that for the most part,you can lower blood pressure naturally.