Blood pressure is the pressure of blood on the walls of arteries as heart pumps it around body. It’s a vital part of how heart and circulation work. High blood pressure is dangerous because it makes the heart work harder to pump blood and causes atherosclerosis, as well as increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. It can also damage other organs.

Blood pressure is determined both by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of serious health problems, including kidney failure, heart attack and stroke.

Symptoms

Sometimes people with high blood pressure have no signs or symptoms that’s why it’s called a silent killer. Below mention symptoms usually appears when high blood pressure has reached a severe or chronic stage. These symptoms require immediate medical attention. As mentioned earlier, they don’t occur in everyone with hypertension, but waiting for a symptom of this condition to appear could be fatal.

• Severe headache
• Fatigue or confusion
• Vision problems
• Nose bleeds
• Chest pain.
• Difficulty breathing
• Irregular heartbeat
• Blood in the urine
• Pounding in your chest, neck, or ears

Causes of high blood pressure

For most people, there may be more than one cause for their high blood pressure. It develops over a long period of time and your lifestyle can affect your risk of developing it. High blood pressure has many risk factors, including:

• Too much salt (sodium) in your diet
• Those who don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables
• Stress and obesity
• Potassium deficiency
• Lack of physical activities and high levels of stress
• Smoking and drinking too much alcohol
• Age: as you get older, the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle can build up and your blood pressure can increase
• Ethnic origin: people from African-Caribbean and South Asian communities are at greater risk than other people of high blood pressure
• Family history: you are at greater risk if other members of your family have or had high blood pressure

Ayurvedic Perspective

Hypertension management in Ayurveda has a long-term and deeper impact because instead of controlling symptoms, it treats the root-cause of the problem. Unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyles are the chief causes of hypertension today. This creates toxins (ama) and it narrows blood vessels. Therefore, the blood has to exert more pressure to circulate, leading to the condition of high blood pressure.

Typically, all three doshas are involved in high blood pressure. Thick Kapha blood is often a root cause behind high pressure. Since blood is fiery in nature, high blood pressure is also related to Pitta. Circulation is governed by Vyana-vayu (a sub dosha of Vata), making blood pressure fundamentally related to Vata dosha.

In Kapha type high blood pressure, Kapha is associated with congested and thick blood. Thick blood moves through vessels with more difficulty. Sluggish blood means the heart has to pump harder to move it through your body, placing extra burden on your heart. Occasionally, the blood vessels themselves become hard, thick, and inflexible, a condition called atherosclerosis, which also translates to increased blood pressure. High blood sugar, high triglycerides, and high cholesterol are just some of the reasons why kapha blood is thicker than other body types.

Hot Blooded Pitta types experience blood pressure spikes when frustrated or angry. If you have this type of high blood pressure, your face and ears become red and hot. Cooling herbs are especially useful, as well as alternative and blood purifiers that renormalise blood chemistry.

Tense, anxious vata types who suffer from anxiety and stress sometimes experience high blood pressure. Under stress, the heart races, blood vessels constrict, and muscles tighten, leading to increase pressure in the vascular system.

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