Chinese Herbal Medicine And Acupuncture Combined Boosts The Effectiveness of Hypertension Treatment

Hypertension is a chronic cardiovascular condition suffered by a third of the US population. This common disease has become widespread primarily due to a sedentary lifestyle and increased stress. The good news is holistic treatments such as acupuncture are available that can help control hypertension and enhance your overall well-being effectively and safely.

What Is Hypertension?

When your blood pressure increases beyond normal levels, due to increased vascular resistance, increased contraction of your heart muscle, or both, you are considered to be suffering from hypertension. A measurement of normal blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg. Any blood pressure reading that goes beyond 140/90 is considered hypertension. This disease is a silent killer because it often has few obvious symptoms and without any sign can become fatal all of a sudden. Hypertension (HTN) and high blood pressure (HBP) are one and the same condition. Hypertension can lead to a greater risk of kidney failure, heart attacks, or strokes, if left untreated.

The two forms of hypertension are primary and secondary hypertension. A hypertension caused by an unknown condition is called primary hypertension. Secondary hypertension is brought about by different kinds of disorders including medication side effects, cancer, endocrine problems, and kidney diseases.

Modern Western medicine uses pharmaceutical drugs along with lifestyle changes for long-term management of hypertension. Doctors prescribe a combination of drugs including ACE Inhibitors, Calcium channel Blockers, Dopamine derivatives, Beta-blockers, and Diuretics to manage high blood pressure. Other ways to manage hypertension include regular exercise, a healthy low sodium diet, and avoidance of alcohol and tobacco smoking.

What is Acupuncture?

Along with Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture is one of the most important treatment modalities in traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture is a Chinese healing technique that originated in China over 5,000 years ago. It involves the use of fine sterilized needles that are applied at strategic locations in the body to produce a regulatory effect on the body. The points where the needles are inserted are called acupuncture points (or just acupoints) that lie just above energy channels called meridians that connect the internal organs to the surface of the body. When a needle is inserted into an acupoint, it generates a mild electric sensation that stimulates the corresponding meridian and generates a chain reaction of events within the body that helps restore balance and well-being in the body.

While Western science still cannot explain the exact mechanisms that make acupuncture treatment work, acupuncture has been proven to work for several kinds of health conditions. It is extremely effective in the alleviation of pain, sometimes even used as a replacement for anesthesia during surgery in China. The extreme potency of acupuncture underscores the marked physiological effects of the treatment. To determine the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for other illnesses, further research is undergoing and being investigated.

How Does Acupuncture in West Orange Resolve Hypertension?

The way modern Western medicine views hypertension is totally different from that of ancient Chinese medicine. In Chinese medicine, the various physiological processes surrounding hypertension are considered. There are different physiological relationships existing between each of the internal organs. Various disease patterns arise when those relationships become disharmonious. Chinese medicine diagnosis that includes listening to the patient’s symptoms and signs, palpation of his radial artery pulse, observing his tongue are performed in order to determine the exact pattern(s) of disharmony within the patient. Only then can the acupuncturist identify the acupoints to needle to restore balance in the body.

More often than not, hypertension is the result of a disharmony affecting the Liver organ. In Chinese medicine, when we talk about the Liver or any other organ, we refer to an energetic function of the organ and not necessarily the physical organ itself. The regulation of the Blood and the smooth flow of vital energy called Qi are the Liver’s responsibilities. Hypertension can be caused by a number of underlying patterns of disharmony including Kidney Yin and Liver Deficiency, Liver Qi Stagnation, and Liver Yang Rising.

Kidney Yin and Liver Deficiency

This pattern occurs due to aging and causes the weakening of the body’s Yin energy. As the Yin becomes deficient, it no longer can balance and contain the Yang energy of the body. This deficiency causes Yang to rise up and elevate the person’s blood pressure. The pattern of Kidney Yin and Liver Deficiency can be blamed for a variety of symptoms associated with aging, including: menopause. To boost the body’s cooling Yin energy, acupuncture treatment using the acupoints Liver 3, Kidney 3, and Spleen 6 are used.

Additional Treatment Information

Besides those above-mentioned acupuncture points, acupuncturists usually use various additional points to better manage the symptoms of hypertension and normalize and stabilize blood pressure levels. Several acupoints found on the ear have been proven to work extremely well and generate almost instantaneous effects in reducing blood pressure levels. Those ear acupoints are found on the backside of the ear and tip of the ear. They are usually used along with the body acupuncture points to augment the benefits of the treatment.

If necessary, the acupuncture point Stomach 9 that’s found directly adjoining the carotid artery on the neck is used to quickly lower and control blood pressure during times of emergency. Traditionally, this point is contraindicated for bilateral needling because it may lead to a state of hypotension as it can very quickly lower a person’s blood pressure.

Liver Qi Stagnation

Liver Qi Stagnation is usually the result of a stressful lifestyle. Symptoms often associated with this disharmonious pattern include a sensation of distention in the head, PMS, muscle tension, digestive problems, and agitation. The increased tension causes a tightening in the body that creates greater resistance to the circulation of blood and energy. Treatment can involve the needling of acupuncture points Liver 3and Large Intestine 4. These acupoints generate a powerful circulating therapy that is able to remove the obstruction of energy.

Liver Yang Rising

This pattern shows up as a dramatic uprising of Yang Qi to the face and head accompanied by symptoms such as a bitter taste in the mouth, headaches, sudden dizziness, red eyes, and anger. The cause of this pattern is often attributed to out of control emotions. The rising Qi needs to be suppressed and this is accomplished through the needling of the acupoints Stomach 36, Liver 2, and Kidney 1. These acupoints are all found on the lower legs and feet assisting in the downward guidance of Yang energy.

How to Manage Hypertension with Acupuncture Treatment

In order to alleviate the symptoms and balance the disharmonies causing hypertension, regular acupuncture treatment may be necessary. In the management of hypertension, during the first few weeks, you may need to undergo acupuncture treatments several times per week. It may be possible to have less frequent treatments once your condition has stabilized. Acupuncture can help you reduce or avoid the use of medications, but only with the advice of your medical physician. For patients desiring to limit or avoid the longstanding use of medications, integrative therapy is one option that should be considered.

When you combine Chinese Herbal Medicine with acupuncture, which is usually done by most licensed acupuncturists anyway it can boost the effectiveness of the treatment.