Western Medicine consistently advises patients to check their blood pressure. They worry that if the body’s blood pressure is above the normal reading of 120 over 80, there may be some underlying disorder or a serious disease called ‘hypertension’. Many Western Medical physicians will scare patients about hypertension, and if left untreated will lead to heart attacks, stroke, and kidney failure. The first reading is the systolic pressure which measures blood flow when the heart beats. The second reading is the diastolic pressure, which represents the amount of force when the heart rests between beats.

Western Medicine treats high blood pressure with drugs such as diuretics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and ACE inhibitors. Unfortunately, most individuals remain on these drugs for a lifetime, and since Western Medicine does not yet know and understand the true cause of high blood pressure, they cannot effectively treat it.

Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that high blood pressure is only a symptom of changes within the body, and is not a disease. When humans face emergency situations, the body will try to provide extra energy which causes a natural rise in blood pressure. In addition, blood pressure varies from person to person, depending on their personality, emotions, job, etc. Diuretic drugs must be avoided since they eliminate good water in the body. Gravity, in combination with diuretic drugs will cause the vessels in the brain to dry up first, which may lead to a stroke. This is why high blood pressure medications will actually increase the chance of getting a stroke as opposed to taking nothing at all. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that high blood pressure results from kidney stones or infections, gallbladder stones or infections, or from water retention. When the blood vessels of the body become constricted by water it creates a higher blood pressure.

Traditional Chinese Medicine first determines what may be causing the high blood pressure. Depending on the cause, herbs are used to eliminate whatever may be causing the problem. By eliminating the bad water from around the vessels, increasing the good water in the body, and restoring the body’s circulation, high blood pressure symptoms can be relieved.