How To Treat High Or Low Blood Pressure

When the heart pumps blood into the arteries, the blood flows with a force pushing against the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure is the product of the flow of blood times the resistance in the blood vessels. High blood pressure is also called hypertension.

Symptoms

High blood pressure is a silent disease. Most people with high blood pressure don’t have any symptoms, so they don’t know if they have it unless their blood pressure is checked. The causes of high blood pressure vary. Disorders such as diabetes and high blood cholesterol may contribute to high blood pressure.

In some cases, however, a person can have high blood pressure symptoms. Possible symptoms of high blood pressure include:

•    Headache
•    Dizziness
•    Blurred vision
•    Nausea.

However, many people don’t seek medical care until they have more severe symptoms from the organ damage that long-term (chronic) high blood pressure can cause.

Causes

In the 95% of cases where the exact cause of high blood pressure is unknown, it is called essential hypertension or primary hypertension. Lifestyle, environment, and family history of the condition all play a role in these cases.

In a small percentage of people, this increased pressure is from an underlying problem such as kidney disease or a tumor of the adrenal gland. However, in 90 to 95 percent of all cases, the cause is unclear. That’s why it is known as the silent killer; it just creeps up without any warning. Whereas some of the contributing factors are not controllable, others can be quite controllable.

Treatment

The overall goal in treating hypertension is to prevent other health related complications and death from hypertension related complications. Treating and controlling your hypertension can help prevent damage to your heart, brain, kidneys, blood vessels, and eyes. For individuals who don’t have other medical or health conditions such as diabetes or heart failure, typically the goal is to lower systolic blood pressure to less than 140 and the diastolic blood pressure to less than 90 (“less than 140 over 90”).

There is no cure for primary hypertension, but blood pressure can almost always be lowered with the correct treatment. The goal of treatment is to lower blood pressure to levels that will prevent heart disease and other complications of hypertension that could manifest in adulthood. In secondary hypertension, the disease that is responsible for the hypertension is treated in addition to the hypertension itself. Successful treatment of the underlying disorder may cure the secondary hypertension.

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So, what’s behind the thought that a person can eat a salad food like the humble celery for high blood pressure relief? Is it myth or medication?

For over 2000 years Traditional Chines Medicine practitioners have been prescribing celery to relieve high blood pressure. It is a traditional medicine that until relatively recent times has been ignored in the west.

Tests have been carried out on animals at the University of Chicago into the relationship between celery and high blood pressure.

During these tests it was found that the animals who were injected with a celery extract compound (which was equivalent to them being fed 2 stalks of celery each day) for a week, had a lower blood pressure than the animals who where not treated.

On average the blood pressure levels dropped by around 13%.

The active blood pressure lowering ingredient in celery seems to be 3-n-butylphtalide. This compound helps to lower a person blood pressure levels by relaxing the muscles which line the blood vessels and arteries as well reducing the amount of stress hormones, known as catacholamines, that the human body produces.

As well as celery being considered a dietary supplements for high blood pressure it has historically been used for treating weight problems. This is because it is a natural diuretic and is able to eliminate the water weight, which in many cases can help a person eliminate unnecessary toxins from the body, prior to following a purpose created diet.

A person with high blood pressure is advised not to exceed 4 sticks of celery per day and then it needs to be eaten as part of a diet agreed with your medical professional. You should let your doctor know that you are planning on eating celery to lower your blood pressure so that they can keep an eye on your medications.

Celery is rich in sodium, which has been shown to elevate blood pressure, and also other compounds that may be toxic if eaten in high quantities. So, it is advisable that if you are going to add celery to your diet you look to reduce the levels of sodium in other ways.

The addition of celery to the diet, should really only form part of the battle plan against high blood pressure. This would normally include an overall change to a healthy diet, introducing mild to moderate exercise regime and also a change to lifestyle, as well as potentially medication and natural herbal supplements to speed up recovery.

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This holistic approach to treating elevated blood pressure has often shown better results in the long term. There are generally a number of changes that need to be made in a person’s lifestyle and diet if they are going to successfully relieve themselves of high blood pressure and deal with the real cause of the problem, rather than just treat the symptoms.

That being said, introducing celery for high blood pressure relief into the diet is an option that can be discussed with your medical advisor, but it is better not to expect a miracle cure, and expect there will be more changes required than adding this salad food to your plate.

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