About Hypertension

Paul J Johnson asked:


It is important to be able to recognize the signs of high blood pressure, but it is also important to know what can cause blood pressure to increase, so you can avoid these factors if you a prone to hypertension. For instance, not only can certain foods and medications impact your blood pressure, but so can some natural herbal remedies. In fact, hypertension caused by St Johns Wort, a herb commonly used to treat mild depression, can be dangerous for those who suffer from or are prone to high blood pressure.

St Johns Wort is a bright, yellow flower. Its petals are used as an herbal remedy that can be administered as a topical ointment for healing burns, but it is primarily used as an oral dietary supplement to treat mild depression.

Studies have found that one of St Johns Wort’s active ingredients, hypericin, affects neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) in a similar way as antidepressant medications. The reason why the active ingredient is so effective is because it mirrors monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, which is the ingredient found in major antidepressant drugs.

How is hypertension caused by St Johns Wort?

St Johns Wort can cause an increase in blood pressure because the hypericin ingredient that is similar to a MAO inhibitor, produces a powerful and dangerous reaction when mixed with the amino acid tyramine.

Reactions that can occur when tyramine is taken in excess with this herb include a fast rise in blood pressure, severe headaches, and irregular heartbeat. However, it should be also stated that although these reactions can occur, there have not been frequent reports of such occurrences.

Nevertheless, until more is understood about the interaction, a person taking St Johns Wort should dramatically limit or avoid foods or beverages high in tyramine including:

- Aged, dried, smoked, pickled or processed fish or meats (I.E. bologna, salami, pepperoni, herring, etc.)

- Chicken liver

- Aged cheese

- Soy sauce

- Yeast/protein extracts

- Legumes

- Over-ripe fruit

- Figs or raisins

- Alcoholic beverages including ale, beer, red wines, sherry and liqueurs.

It is also suggested that individuals taking St Johns Wort also limit their intake of caffeine.

Moreover, aside from being aware of hypertension caused by St Johns Wort due to the tyramine interaction, you should also know that like all herbs, there is a risk that St Johns Wort may interact with other medications, including those used for controlling high blood pressure.

In addition, some users of the herb have also reported St Johns Wort caused a spike in their blood pressure when other prescribed anti-depressant and over-the-counter medications were taken with it.

Although, studies have found there is only a small reaction when other medications are taken with St Johns Wort, until further research can conclude the side effects or risks involved it is highly recommended that those using St Johns Wort to treat mild depression not take any other form of medication and also have their blood pressure checked regularly.

Finally, since hypertension caused by St Johns Wort is a possibility, individuals with high blood pressure, who have previously had high blood pressure, or who are prone to the condition, should avoid taking this herb. Speak to your doctor about other alternative remedies that do not increase the risk of high blood pressure if you suffer from mild depression.



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Timothy asked:


Hypertension is a high blood pressure that can cause to be a blood bomb and cause heart attack I think. I don’t know much about it but how can I keep myself from hypertension.

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Nick Johnson asked:


Significant advances in the treatment of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) have been made since the 1990s. While there is still no cure for this condition, there are now a variety of options that increase the quality of life and improve the long-term prognosis for people with this disease.

If you have been diagnosed with PPH as a result of Fen-Phen use, you have several options available for treatment depending on how far advanced your disease is and how healthy you are in other respects. Other considerations such as allergies are also an important factor in determining whether you will be treated with Flolan or another similar drug.

Primary Pulmonary Hypertension is caused by increased blood pressure in the lungs, which in turn has a variety of causes, one of which is known to be prolonged use of the diet drug Fen-Phen. The high blood pressure in the lungs puts extra strain on the heart of the affected individual, and causes shortness of breath, fatigue, fainting, dizziness, and cyanosis (a blue tinge to the skin of the feet, hands, and lips).

Drugs used for PPH treatment are, therefore, typically targeted to expanding lung blood vessels and increasing blood flow to the lungs in order to ease the strain on the heart and provide relief from the symptoms of the disease.

Determining which of these drugs is the best to use for PPH treatment can be a lengthy process. Individual reactions to each drug can vary quite widely, so a patient may have to try several different treatment options before an effective long-term treatment can be established.

Approximately 25% of patients can be treated effectively with oral medication using drugs called calcium channel blockers; however for those that do not respond to this medication, stronger oral medications or intravenously-administered drugs such as Flolan are needed to treat PPH effectively.

While Flolan is an effective medication for the treatment of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, it does have some disadvantages. Flolan is administered intravenously directly into the patient’s bloodstream, via a catheter which must be surgically implanted into a chest vein.

Once the drug is injected, it functions for only five minutes in the body, and this means that a patient being treated with Flolan must be continually injected with new doses of the drug (via the catheter) to maintain an optimum level of treatment. People receiving Flolan treatment wear a small battery-operated pump which injects Flolan into the catheter at a pre-determined rate.

All of this means that for people who have had and would like to maintain a very active lifestyle, Flolan may not be the best choice for PPH treatment. The preparation that is injected must be prepared daily, as the drug has a very short life-span, and the pump must be kept cold with mini ice packs if the supply of the drug is to last longer than eight hours without being renewed.

The pump itself can also interfere with daily life. Certain sporting activities, such as swimming and other water sports are made more difficult, and high impact activities such as contact sports are not recommended due to the possibility of the pump or catheter being displaced. The effects of sudden withdrawal of Flolan treatment, even if for a short time only, can be quite severe, and may cause breathing difficulties as well as dizziness and weakness.

Despite its disadvantages, Flolan treatment has some advantages when compared to treatment with other medications such as Tracleer. The side effects of Flolan are typically less severe than those of some other medications used for PPH treatment, particularly for long-term use. Tracleer, for example, can cause liver damage and is known to be harmful to unborn babies.

Flolan can improve the quality of life for people with PPH quite dramatically, and can improve the long term prognosis for the disease as well as enabling individuals to achieve a normal level of physical fitness and activity. Flolan treatment is also known to slow down the progress of scarring in lung tissue caused by Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, and it is now viewed as an effective alternative to lung transplantation (which was once used as a last resort for PPH treatment and carries its own set of risks).

One final advantage of Flolan treatment is one of cost. Flolan is currently considered a PPH treatment rather than a prescription medication. For this reason, Flolan treatment is usually fully covered by Medicare and health insurance, as long as approval is gained before treatment begins.



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Joe Barton asked:


You or a loved one suffers from the ’silent killer’ of High Blood Pressure or Hypertension. Unfortunately, you are dealing with a very deadly disease that kills almost 60,000 Americans every year. Fortunately, you know that you (or a loved one) have High Blood Pressure and you are doing something about it! Information is one of the most important tools you have for not allowing High Blood Pressure to take your life!

Before you begin treating your high blood pressure with hypertension medication, it is important you know what you might be getting from the medication. And like some things, high blood pressure prescription drugs have their good and their bad!

What Prescription Drug Companies Don’t Want You To Know…

1. Diuretics: Though diuretics relieve your body of water and sodium (decreasing blood pressure), did you know diuretics will literally drain your body of precious nutrients that keep the body healthy. ISN’T THERE A BETTER OPTION?

2. Beta Blockers: Beta Blockers create a slowing of the heart thus relieving pressure. However, common side-effects include: fatigue, cold hands/feet (poor circulation), dizziness, dryness of mouth/eyes/skin and asthma like symptoms. NO THANK YOU!

3. ACE Inhibitors: ACE Inhibitors inhibit the formation of angiotensin II which relaxes the arteries thus lower the blood pressure. Unfortunately, common side-effects include loss of taste, skin rash, raspy cough, and sometimes kidney failure. NEXT!

4. Alpha Blockers: Alpha Blockers relax muscles and keep blood pressure down. But get this, Alpha blockers’s common side-effects are headaches (migraines), nausea, fatigue, weight gain, pounding heartbeat, and raise bad cholesterol and in some cases cause of heart failure. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

5. Vasodilators: Vasodilators are usually a last-resort medication and have severe side-effects. Side-effects include: chest pain, rapid heartbeat, heart palpitations, fluid retention (edema), nausea, vomiting, dizziness, flushing, headache, nasal congestion and excessive hair growth. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WANTS THAT?

6. The Cost: Did you know that millions of people spend hundreds to thousands of dollars alone on these medications? That is why health care is a multi-billion dollar industry! IS THERE SOME CHEAPER?

Thousands of People Cure Hypertension Naturally and Permanently

I was shocked to find out that the hypertension prescription medications were worse than the disease of high blood pressure. But is there a better way? Yes! In fact, there is a cheaper, more effective (not a prescription band-aid), more permanent and more natural way to make your blood pressure plummet. Our natural cure for high blood pressure has helped thousands save their lives from the deadly disease of hypertension. What would you give to end the worrying, give you and your family peace of mind, make your blood pressure plummet, and get your life back? Thousands of dollars? Hundreds? How about a fraction of what it would cost for one prescription of HBP medication? Take a minute to see what others have said about our 100% risk-free, money-back guaranteed remedy report. Please don’t wait another day to treat your hypertension problem!

http://www.bloodpressurenormalized.com/hbp1/



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H. Wei Williams asked:


So far we’ve looked at oxygen intake, lighting, diet and hydration to treat and prevent hypertension. These are all part of a healthy lifestyle.

What else?

We all know that a healthy lifestyle cannot exist without adequate exercise. Qigong is one of the best kinds of exercises because it can provide both a gentle as well as a thorough workout.

Also important, there have been a growing number of studies on qigong (a.k.a. chi kung) and its benefit in the treatment and prevention of high blood pressure, as well as other cardiovascular diseases.

There are literally thousands of qigong exercises you can practice, ranging from short and simple exercises that take only a few minutes to do, to some very complicated forms that may take up to an hour or more to complete. Some are light and gentle exercises that are suitable for the weak ad elderly, or even for the physically challenged, while other qigong exercises are more rigorous and demanding in the workout.

Here is one simple qigong exercise specially designed to treat or prevent hypertension:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward, knees slightly bent.

Bend your torso so that your arms hang loosely past your knees, with your head hanging down at about waist level or lower.

Begin swinging your arms loosely back and forth from side to side, letting the momentum flow freely by keeping the arms totally relaxed and loose.

Continue swinging for several minutes. Then, to conclude your exercise, strike the back of your knees firmly three to five times with your fists, before rising up from your bent torso position.

This exercise is easy to do and only takes a few minutes of your time. If you suffer from high blood pressure, practice this qigong exercise whenever you can — at least three to six times a day. With regular practice, you will be able to reduce your blood pressure to normal levels.

This is one of five exercises designed to loosen joints and muscles. These exercises form the basic foundation to tai chi and other qigong forms. You can find more such exercises including qigong yogic breathing, tai chi and meditation on my website — all excellent for helping to treat your high blood pressure.

Don’t let hypertension get the better of you. With a healthy lifestyle that includes regular practice of qigong/chi kung, you will find you can reduce high blood pressure without having to resort to medication. Look forward to my last article on qigong practices for hypertension: yogic meditation to lower stress and blood pressure.



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