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Lifestyle changes and natural remedies may help to control high blood pressure, but your doctor may also recommend medication to lower high blood pressure. It is important to work with your doctor, because untreated high blood pressure may damage organs in the body and increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, brain hemorrhage, kidney disease, and vision loss. See a drawing of a hypertensive heart.

Garlic

In a meta-analysis of seven randomized controlled trials of garlic supplements, three trials showed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and four in diastolic blood pressure. Researchers concluded that garlic powder supplement may be of clinical use in patients with mild hypertension.

Garlic supplement should only be used under the supervision of a qualified health practitioner. Garlic can thin the blood (reduce the ability of blood to clot) similar to aspirin. Garlic may interact with many drugs and supplements such as the prescription "blood-thinners" drugs such as Coumadin (warfarin) or Trental (pentoxifylline), aspirin, vitamin E, gingko. It is usually recommended that people taking garlic stop in the weeks before and after any type of surgery.

Hawthorn

The herb hawthorn is often used by traditional herbal practitioners for high blood pressure.

In a randomized controlled trial conducted by researchers in Reading, UK, 79 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomized to receive either 1200 mg of hawthorn extract a day or placebo for 16 weeks. Medication for high blood pressure was used by 71% of the patients.

At the end of the 16 weeks, patients taking the hawthorn supplement had a significant reduction in mean diastolic blood pressure (2.6 mm Hg). No herb-drug interactions were reported.

Fish Oil

Preliminary studies suggest that fish oil may have a modest effect on high blood pressure. Although fish oil supplements often contain both DHA (docohexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoice acid), there is some evidence that DHA is the ingredient that lowers high blood pressure.

Fish Oil, Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Blood pressure: Several clinical studies have suggested that fish oil supplements may cause mild, dose-dependent reductions in systolic or diastolic blood pressure in untreated hypertensive patients; little effect is noted to occur in normotensive patients

Folic Acid

Folate is a B vitamin necessary for formation of red blood cells. It may help to lower high blood pressure in some people, possibly by reducing elevated homocysteine levels.

One small study of 24 cigarette smokers found that four weeks of folic acid supplementation significantly lowered blood pressure.

Folic acidFood Sources Beans and legumes

• Citrus fruits and juices
• Wheat bran and other whole grains
• Dark green leafy vegetables
• Poultry,  shellfish
• Liver

Diet

Changing your diet is an important part of lowering high blood pressure. (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is promoted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Insitutes of Health (NIH).

The  diet includes fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy foods, beans and nuts. Sodium is limited to 2,400 mg per day.

Studies have found that the  diet can reduce high blood pressure within two weeks. These are the daily guidelines of the  diet:

• 7 to 8 servings of grains
• 4 to 5 servings of vegetables
• 4 to 5 servings of fruit
• 2 to 3 servings of low-fat or non-fat dairy
• 2 or less servings of meat, fish, or poultry
• 2 to 3 servings of fats and oils
• 4 to 5 servings per week of nuts, seeds, and dry beans
• Less than 5 servings a week of sweets

Serving Sizes

• 1/2 cup cooked rice or pasta
• 1 slice bread
• 1 cup raw vegetables or fruit
• 1/2 cup cooked vegetables or fruit
• 8 oz. of milk
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 ounces cooked meat
• 3 ounces tofu

A related diet called the -Sodium reduces sodium to 1,500 mg a day, which is approximately equal to 2/3 teaspoon from all sources (processed and canned foods contain hidden salt).

Patients following the -Sodium diet had a significant reduction in high blood pressure.

The salt war is necessary.

Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium

Calcium. Calcium supplementation appears to have a modest but statistically significiant reduction in systolic blood pressure (mean difference of 2.5 mm Hg), however better quality studies are needed.

Calcium Comes From More Than Milk

Calcium is crucial for proper function of your muscles, nervous system and for strong bones and teeth. When you don't get enough calcium from your diet, you will lose calcium from your bones in order to keep the muscles and nerves healthy and your pH balanced.

Calcium Sources

Cow's milk and dairy products are probably the most well-known dietary source of calcium. Unfortunately, many people are lactose-intolerant, allergic to cow's milk, or may

desire to exclude dairy products from their diet. There are other sources for calcium available.

Consider adding these foods to your diet to get enough calcium: salmon, sardines figs ,tofu , dates, range, pinto beans, broccoli and kale.

Another way to add calcium to your diet is through the use of calcium supplements. Experts suggest that you take 1000 to 1500 mgs per day. To make sure that the calcium you take is utilized by your body, buy calcium gluconate, calcium citrate, calcium chelate, or coral calcium instead of calcium carbonate.

Finally, keep your levels of calcium healthy by avoiding the things that will cause you to lose calcium. Don't smoke, avoid carbonated colas and junk foods.

Potassium

A meta-analysis of five trials indicated that potassium supplementation compared to a control resulted in a large but statistically non-significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (mean difference 11.2 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure (5.0 mm hg).

Pottasium in diet

Which food has potassium?

About Potassium:

Potassium is a dietary mineral that is generally quite abundant in our diets. Most healthy people get plenty of potassium from dietary sources. Due to illness, however, some people need to restrict their dietary potassium and some people need to get more potassium from their diets. If you have any questions about your potassium levels, please speak to your doctor.

Why We Need Potassium:

We need potassium:

• as a component for balancing the pH of our bodies
• for normal water balance in our bodies
• for normal muscle growth
• for healthy nervous system and brain function

Measuring Potassium With Blood Tests:

Most of our potassium is found inside the cells in our bodies; only about two percent of the potassium in our bodies is found the blood. Our bodies like to keep that amount of potassium fairly level within a nice healthy range.

Abnormal Blood Potassium Levels:

Blood potassium levels may fluctuate due to kidney disease, diabetes, vomiting, as a side effect to certain medications, fluctuating hormone levels, amount of potassium in the diet and blood pH.

Hyperkalemia:

Hyperkalemia is a condition where there is too much potassium in the blood. Usually this is due to an underlying medical condition such as a kidney disease or diabetes. Doctors want to keep an eye on elevated potassium levels because very high levels of potassium in our bodies can become very bad for our hearts.

Hypokalemia:

Hypokalemia is a condition where the potassium levels are too low. This may happen because a person doesn't eat enough potassium containing foods. More commonly, potassium levels become too low from digestive problems like chronic diarrhea or excessive vomiting. Certain hormonal disorders such as Cushing's disease can also cause low levels of potassium. Some drugs like diuretics and laxatives can also cause hypokalemia.

Potassium in Foods:

If your potassium levels are too high, you doctor may tell you to go on a potassium-restricted diet. If your potassium levels are too low, your doctor may tell you to get more potassium in your diet. Here is a list of food sources for potassium. If you need to restrict your potassium, avoid the foods with moderate to high levels of potassium, and if you need more potassium, be sure to choose more foods that contain more potassium, or consider taking supplemental potassium:

Foods High in Potassium

• Apricots
• Artichokes
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Cantaloupe
• Cod
• Dates
• Dry beans (i.e. kidney beans and navy beans)
• Figs
• Flounder
• Greens
• Honeydew melons
• Kiwi
• Lentils
• Nuts
• Oranges
• Peaches
• Potatoes
• Prunes
• Pumpkins
• Raisins
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Potassium-based salt replacements
• Tomatoes
• Watermelons

Foods Moderate in Potassium

• Apples
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Beets
• Carrots
• Celery
• Cherries
• Eggplant
• Mango
• Mushrooms
• Okra
• Peaches
• Pears
• Peanut butter
• Plums
• Peppers

Foods Low in Potassium

• Asparagus
• Berries
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Corn
• Cucumber
• Grapes
• Grapefruit
• Green beans
• Onions
• Peas
• Pineapple
• Radishes
• Rhubarb
• Tangerines
• Turnips

Magnesium

In 12 randomized controlled trials, participants receiving magnesium supplements did not have a significantly reduction in systolic blood pressure, but they did have a statistically signicantly reduction in diastolic blood pressure (mean difference 2.2 mm Hg).

More: Magnesium in diet 

Alternative Names:

Diet – magnesium

Food Sources:

Most dietary magnesium comes from vegetables, particularly dark green, leafy vegetables. Other foods that are good sources of magnesium are:

• Legumes and seeds
• Nuts (such as almonds and cashews)
• Whole grains (such as brown rice and millet)
• Fruits or vegetables (such as bananas, dried apricots, and avocados)

Mind-Body Interventions 

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is an important part of the natural approach to lower high blood pressure. A meta-analysis of 105 trials involving a total of 6805 participants found that aerobic exercise was associated with a mean reduction in systolic blood pressure of 4.6 mm Hg, with corresponding reductions in diastolic blood pressure.

People with high blood pressure should speak with their doctor first before embarking on a new exercise program.

Studies have indicated that yoga and tai chi, an ancient Chinese exercise involving slow, relaxing movements, may lower blood pressure almost as well as moderate-intensity aerobic exercises.

Description

An in-depth report on the benefits and types of exercise.

Exercise's Effects on the Heart

Inactivity is one of the four major risk factors for coronary artery disease, on par with smoking, unhealthy cholesterol, and high blood pressure. However, exercise helps improve heart health in people with many forms of heart disease and can even reverse some risk factors, such as some of the effects of smoking.

Like all muscles, the heart becomes stronger and larger as a result of exercise so it can pump more blood through the body with every beat and sustain its maximum level with less strain. The resting heart rate of those who exercise is also slower because less effort is needed to pump blood.

People who exercise the most often and vigorously have the lowest risk for heart disease, but any exercise is beneficial. Studies consistently find that light to moderate exercise is even beneficial in people with existing heart disease. However, anyone with coronary artery disease should seek medical advice before beginning a workout program.

The heart is a large muscular organ which constantly pushes oxygen-rich blood to the brain and extremities and transports oxygen-poor blood from the brain and extremities to the lungs to gain oxygen. Blood comes into the right atrium from the body, moves into the right ventricle and is pushed into the pulmonary arteries in the lungs. After picking up oxygen, the blood travels back to the heart through the pulmonary veins into the left atrium, to the left ventricle and out to the body's tissues through the aorta.

Heart- and Stroke-Protective Benefits of Exercise on the Heart and Blood 

Exercise has a number of effects that benefit the heart and circulation, including improving cholesterol and lipid levels, reducing inflammation in the arteries, assisting weight loss programs, and helping to keep blood vessels flexible and open. Studies continue to show that physical activity and avoiding high-fat foods are the two most successful means of reaching and maintaining heart healthy levels of fitness and weight.

In their 2003 guideline on exercise for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, the American Heart Association recommended that individuals perform moderate-intense exercise for 30 minutes on most days of the week.

Coronary Artery Disease

People who maintain an active lifestyle have a 45% lower risk of developing heart disease than do sedentary people. Experts have been attempting to define how much exercises is needed to produce heart benefits. In 2002, a well-conducted study on overweight adults confirmed previous research that reported beneficial changes in cholesterol and lipid levels, including lower LDL levels (the so-called bad cholesterol), even when people performed low amounts of moderate or high intensity exercise (e.g., walking or jogging 12 miles a week). However, more intense exercise is required to significantly change cholesterol levels, notably increasing HDL (the so-called good cholesterol). An example of such a program would be jogging about 20 miles a week. Such benefits in the study occurred even with very modest weight loss, suggesting that overweight people who have trouble losing pounds can still achieve considerable heart benefits by exercising.

Some studies suggest that for the greatest heart protection, it is not the duration of a single exercise session that counts but the total daily amount of energy expended. Therefore, the best way to exercise may be in multiple short bouts of intense exercise, which can be particularly helpful for older people.

Resistance (weight) training has also been associated with heart protection. It may offer a complementary benefit to aerobics by reducing LDL levels. Exercises that train and strengthen the chest muscles may prove to be very important for patients with angina.

Effects of Exercise on Blood Pressure

Regular exercise helps keep arteries elastic, even in older people, which in turn ensures blood flow and normal blood pressure. Sedentary people have a 35% greater risk of developing hypertension than athletes do.

It should be noted that high-intensity exercise may not lower blood pressure as effectively as moderate-intensity exercise. In one study, moderate exercise (jogging two miles a day) controlled hypertension so well that more than half the patients who had been taking drugs for high blood pressure were able to discontinue their medication. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise on most -- if not all days.

Studies have indicated that yoga and tai chi, an ancient Chinese exercise involving slow, relaxing movements, may lower blood pressure almost as well as moderate-intensity aerobic exercises.

Anyone with existing hypertension should discuss an exercise program with their physician. Before starting to exercise, people with moderate to severe hypertension should lower their pressure and be able to control it with medications. They should avoid caffeinated beverages, which increase heart rate, the workload of the heart, and blood pressure during physical activity. Everyone, and especially people with high blood pressure, should breath as normally as possible through each exercise. Holding the breath increases blood pressure.

Effects of Exercise on Heart Failure

Traditionally, heart failure patients have been discouraged from exercising. Now, exercise performed under medical supervision is proving to be helpful for select patients with stable heart failure.

• Studies continue to report benefits from exercise training. In one study, heart failure patients as old as 91 years old increased their oxygen consumption significantly after six months of supervised treadmill and stationary bicycle exercises.
• Progressive resistance training may be particularly useful for heart failure patients since it strengthens muscles, which commonly deteriorate in this disorder. Even simply performing daily handgrip exercises can improve blood flow through the arteries.

Experts warn, however, that exercise is not appropriate for all heart failure patients.

Effects of Exercise on Stroke. The effects of exercise on stroke are less established than on heart disease, but most studies are positive on its benefits. The following are some examples:

• According to one major analysis, men cut their risk for stroke in half if their exercise program was roughly equivalent to about an hour of brisk daily walking five days a week. In the same study, exercise that involved recreation was more protective against stroke than exercise routines consisting simply of walking or climbing.
• A 2000 study of women also found substantial protection from brisk walking or striding (rather than casual walking).

Starting an Exercise Program for High-Risk Individuals

Anyone with heart disease or risk factors for developing heart disease or stroke should seek medical advice before beginning a workout program. Patients with heart disease can nearly always exercise safely as long as they work out under medical supervision. Still, it is often difficult for a physician to predict health problems that might arise as the result of an exercise program. At-risk individuals should be very aware of any symptoms warning of harmful complications while they exercise.

Some experts believe that anyone over 40 years old, whether or not they are at risk for heart disease, should have a complete physical examination before starting or intensifying an exercise program. Some physicians use a questionnaire for people over 40 to help determine whether they require such an examination:

• Has any doctor previously recommended medically supervised activity because of a heart condition?
• Is chest pain brought on by physical activity?
• Has chest pain occurred during the previous month?
• Does the person faint or fall over from dizziness?
• Is bone or joint pain intensified by exercise?
• Has medication been prescribed for hypertension or heart problems?
• Is the person aware of or has a doctor suggested any physical reason for not exercising without medical supervision?

Those who answer yes to any of the following questions should have a complete medical examination before developing an exercise program.

Stress Test

A stress test helps determine the risk for a heart event from exercise. Anyone with a heart problem or history of heart disease should have a stress test before embarking on an exercise program. Experts currently also recommend this test before a vigorous exercise program for older persons who are sedentary, even in the absence of known or suspected cardiovascular disease. It is expensive, however, and some experts believe that it may not be necessary for many older people with no evident health problems or risk factors. They recommend instead a carefully monitored program, starting out with low-intensity exercises and gradually building up.

Heart Attack and Sudden Death from Strenuous Exercise

An estimated 1.5 million heart attacks occur every year. Of these, 75,000, or about 5%, occur after heavy exertion, leading to 25,000 deaths.

High-Risk Individuals. In general, the following people should avoid intense exercise or embark on it only with carefully monitoring:

• Strenuous physical exertion is never recommended for people who suffer from uncontrolled diabetes, uncontrolled seizures, uncontrolled high blood pressure, a heart attack within six months, heart failure, unstable angina, significant aortic valve disease, or aortic aneurysm.
• Older people should be cautious. Studies report that older people who first embark on vigorous exercise are at slightly higher than average risk for a heart attack during the first year, but over time, regular exercise is likely to reduce this risk.
• Experts generally recommend that moderate or severe hypertension (any systolic blood pressure over 160 mm Hg or diastolic pressure over 100 mm Hg) should be controlled to lower levels before starting an exercise program.
• Sedentary people should be cautious. One major study found that sedentary people who throw themselves into a grueling workout increase their risk of heart attack 107 times beyond that which would occur with low or no exertion.
• Episodes of exercise-related sudden death in young people are rare but of great concern. Some are preceded by syncope (fainting) -- caused by a sudden and severe drop in blood pressure. It should be noted that syncope is relatively common in athletes and is dangerous only in people with existing heart conditions. Young people with genetic or inborn heart disorders should avoid intensive competitive sports.
• Young athletes sometimes take anabolic steroids or products containing ephedra to enhance performance. It should be noted that such products have been associated with cases of stroke, heart attack, and even death.

The risk for heart attack from exercise should be kept in perspective, however. Some form of exercise carefully tailored to their specific conditions has benefits for most of these individuals. And in many cases, particularly when the only risk factors are being sedentary and older, exercise can often be increased over time until it is intense.

Hazardous Activities for High-Risk Individuals

The following activities may pose particular dangers for high-risk individuals:

• Intense workouts (snow shoveling, slow jogging, speed walking, tennis, heavy lifting, heavy gardening) may be particularly hazardous for people with risk factors for heart disease, particularly older people. They tend to stress the heart, raise blood pressure for a brief period, and may cause spasms in the arteries leading to the heart.
• Some studies suggest that competitive sports, which couple intense activity with aggressive emotions, are more likely to trigger a heart attack than other forms of exercise.

Listening for Warning Signs

It should be noted that according to one study, at least 40% of young men who die suddenly during a workout have previously experienced, and ignored, warning signs of heart disease. In addition to avoiding risky activities, the best preventive tactic is simply to listen to the body and seek medical help at the first sign of symptoms during or following exercise. They include the following:

• Irregular heartbeat
• Undue shortness of breath
• Chest pain

Traditional Chinese Medicine

In traditional Chinese medicine, high blood pressure is often attributed to a problem with the circulation of vital energy (qi) in the body. Chinese medicine practitioners believe that depression, anger, obesity, and high intake of fatty foods are some of the causative factors.

A combination of acupuncture and herbs is often recommended. Foods thought to have medicinal properties that may help high blood pressure include water chestnut, turnip, honey, Chinese celery, hawthorn berries, and mung beans. 

Herbs and Supplements To Avoid

Herbs that have been found or suspected to cause high blood pressure include:

• Licorice
• Ephedra
• Asian Ginseng
• Rosemary essential oil

There are obviously many reason why the incidence of high blood pressure is increasing besides work stress. Obesity is now one of the most pressing health issues  and is thought to be the factor that explains the increase in cases of hypertension.

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