Acupuncture for High Blood Pressure
March 12th, 2009
Acupuncture for High Blood Pressure
Acupuncture helps lower elevated blood pressure. Acupuncture treatments can lower high blood pressure by as much as 50 percent and can be an excellent complement to other medical treatments, especially for those treating the cardiac system.
By stimulating brain cells to release neurotransmitters, acupuncture can inhibit cardiovascular activity. This decreases the heart’s activity and need for oxygen, which as a result can lower blood pressure and promote healing for a number of cardiac conditions, including heart attacks and hypertension.
Acupuncture treats specific acupoints on the wrist, forearm and leg that trigger the release of opioid chemicals in the brain, which reduces excitatory responses in the cardiovascular system. Acupuncture can be part of a therapeutic regimen for long-term care of hypertension and other cardiovascular ailments and can be safely integrated into conventional medical treatment.
With its capacity to regulate blood pressure, particularly if blood pressure is high, acupuncture can also reduce the stress response that may increase blood pressure. The effects of acupuncture can be long lasting and the duration of the effects increase with the number of acupuncture treatments.
A health care plan for high blood pressure that incorporates once-weekly 30-minute acupuncture treatments can result in significant blood pressure reductions of 15-25 mmHg in four weeks. Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old traditional Chinese medicine therapy that involves inserting needles into specific points, or acupoints, on the body to relieve pain and cure health conditions.
High blood pressure is often treated with lifestyle recommendations associated with diet, exercise and weight loss in combination with drug therapy. However, some individuals seek out alternative therapies due to an inability to enact healthful lifestyle changes or who continue to experience high blood pressure although they lead a healthy lifestyle. Acupuncture can be a solution to high blood pressure that is safe and painless.
Although diuretics and other antihypertensives may lower blood pressure due to the heart pumping excess blood into the blood vessels, acupuncture can effectively treat elevated blood pressure due to increased vascular stiffness and constriction. Acupuncture works through the central nervous system to relax blood vessels.
For more information about acupuncture for the treatment of high blood pressure call Dr. Richard Browne, Acupuncture Physician, at (305) 595-9500.
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