High blood pressure (hypertension) is well-treated using naturopathic medicine.
High blood pressure (hypertension) refers to a health condition in which the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls is consistently too high, requiring the heart has to work harder to pump blood.
Untreated, hypertension can result in heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, kidney disease and vision loss, among other serious complications.
High blood pressure (hypertension) is influenced by blood flow and artery “patency” (“openness”) – the more blood the heart pumps and the narrower the arteries, the higher the blood pressure.
The majority of high blood pressure (hypertension) is described as “essential”, having no identifiable cause, but responding well to treatment by relaxation response training.
Other causes of high blood pressure (hypertension) include:
- Congenital heart defects
- Adrenal gland tumors
- Kidney disease
- Hyperthyroidism
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Medication side effects (e.g., cough and cold medicines, pain medications, birth control pills)
Lifestyle and environmental factors that may increase risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension) include being overweight or obese, stress, dietary factors (e.g., high salt diet, low potassium diet), physical inactivity, alcohol use and tobacco use or vaping.
Symptoms of High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Most people with high blood pressure (hypertension) have no symptoms.
Possible symptoms of high blood pressure (hypertension) include:
- Headaches
- Shortness of breath
- Nosebleeds
Treatment of High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of high blood pressure (hypertension) treatment are reduction of risk factors of high blood pressure (hypertension) (e.g., excess weight, smoking, “bad” cholesterol levels) and prevention of serious high blood pressure (hypertension) complications.
Conventional treatment for high blood pressure (hypertension) may include a variety of medications, including diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, alpha blockers, alpha-beta blockers, beta blockers, aldosterone antagonists, renin inhibitors, vasodilators and central-acting agents. These treatments may have short- or long-term side effects.
For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your high blood pressure (hypertension) symptoms.
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves:
- Identifying specific treatment goals
- Development by your naturopathic doctor, of a thorough understanding of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors
- Development of a comprehensive treatment plan
- Implementation and maintenance of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment
At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, a typical approach to treating high blood pressure (hypertension) may be to:
- Identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, stress, smoking ) or general health (e.g., high blood cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, obesity) that may be contributing to your high blood pressure (hypertension) symptoms
- Lower blood pressure or normalize heart rate using herbal (phyto) medicines
- “Strengthen” the heart using herbal (phyto) medicines and exercise prescription
- Prevent potential complications of high blood pressure (hypertension) (e.g., heart attack) by identifying and addressing specific nutritional risk factors and implementing a lifestyle medicine program; and supporting this process using herbal (phyto) medicine and nutritional supplements
Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
- Nutritional counseling
- Nutritional supplements
- Metabolic detoxification protocols
- Herbal (phyto) medicines
- Acupuncture
- Homeopathy
- Bowen Therapy
- Hydrotherapy
- Exercise prescription
- Relaxation (meditation) training
- Lifestyle medicine and counseling
Treatments provided by naturopathic doctors are covered by most extended healthcare plans.