Hypertension, commonly referred to as "high blood pressure", is a medical condition where the blood pressure is chronically elevated. Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic renal failure. Hypertension is often without symptoms. The simplest and easiest way to see if you are at risk or have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked regularly.
Acupuncture is becoming more widely known as an alternative therapy for curbing high blood pressure. It provides an excellent complement to other medical treatments for high blood pressure and other heart-related conditons. During acupuncture, needles are inserted into specific body points to help relieve pain and disease. Studies have shown that acupuncture excites brain cells, causing them to release neurotransmitters that can inhibit or heighten the heart's activity.
When a needle is inserted at specific points, opioid chemicals in the brain that reduce excitatory responses in the cardiovascular system are released. This results in a decrease in heart activity and need for oxygen, which can lower blood pressure and promote the healing of heart-related conditions like myocardial ischemia (insufficient blood flow to the heart) and hypertension.
In the Journal of Applied Physiology from March 2005, researchers from the University of California applied electroacupuncture to sites on the forelimbs of rats. Low frequencies lowered elevated blood pressure rates by 40 percent to 50 percent. A 30-minute treatment was able to reduce blood pressure by 25 mmHg, and the reduction lasted for nearly two hours.Researcher Professor John Longhurst, a specialist in heart medicine at the University’s Irvine campus, said: "This type of electroacupuncture is only effective on elevated blood pressure levels, such as those present in hypertension, and the treatment has no impact on standing blood pressure rates.
"Our goal is to help establish a standard of acupuncture treatment that can benefit everyone who has hypertension and other cardiac ailments."
He added: "This study suggests that acupuncture can be an excellent complement to other medical treatments, especially for those treating the cardiac system. "
Not all research studies on acupuncture and hypertension agree. In my experience, acupuncture depends on proper diagnosis, proper choice of acupuncture points, and proper needle technique. These are difficult factors to control in research studies, and may be why results often differ.
A trained Acupuncturist can recognize the origins of high blood pressure by observing certain symptoms. Headache, dizziness, eye disorders, and numbness suggest a Liver imbalance. Palpitations, poor memory, and insomnia represent Heart distress. And ringing in the ears and accumulation are resultant of Kidney disorder. Control studies prefer to use the same acupuncture points on all test subjects, which is not a proper test for acupuncture.
Conflicting studies are why it is important to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture for yourself. In addition, if one acupuncturist is unable to help, consider trying another who may be better able to help you. In any case, don't give up on your health, or accept the results of a single strategy. There are many health options and you need to find the one that is right for you.
