Managing High Blood Pressure - Can You Do It Yourself?

There are more than 180 drugs that treat high blood pressure (hypertension) in some manner. So, why wouldn't you just let your doctor prescribe one for you and let it do its job?

Well maybe it's not as simple as that! A great many people want to avoid adding drugs to their system, and in the case of a stroke patient, they are probably already taking a number of drugs. Adding to the mix increases the chances of drugs interacting unfavourably. And really, taking drugs only puts a "bandaid" on the problem - it doesn't make it go away. To be truly effective and reduce your risk of stroke (and other disease) you should treat the cause of the problem.

Remember that hypertension is the most significant risk factor for stroke. Recall that a haemorrhagic stroke is caused by a blood vessel rupturing, resulting in a bleed to the brain and that an ischemic stroke is caused by a blocked artery, resulting in the brain being starved of blood, and that both these can be caused by high blood pressure, then it's clear that this is an important factor in stroke prevention!

If you can manage hyprtension, then the chance of a first, or subsequent stroke reduces. Whilst we don't recommend dropping the drugs that have been prescribed for you, you can make interventions yourself and as these prove to be successful, scale back on the drugs under your doctor's guidance.

How do you know if you have hypertension?

Your blood pressure reading consists of two numbers, the systolic or top number (which represents the pressure generated by your heart beating) and the diastolic or bottom number (which represents the pressure in your blood vessels when your heart is resting). Your reading might be something like 160 over 110 (although I certainly hope not!). If your systolic reading is consistently over 140, or your diastolic reading is consistently over 90, then you have high blood pressure.

Your doctor will likely monitor your blood pressure for you, but unless you go to the doctor very regular, it's not going to identify any patterns. Our experience is that it makes sense to monitor your blood pressure yourself in a number of circumstances. These include:

• When medication is changed, so you can find out if your blood pressure is affected (positively or negatively)
• During stressful periods, when there is a greater risk of high blood pressure
• When you aren't feeling well.

You can purchase a blood pressure monitor relatively inexpensively (for example here) and keep track of your blood pressure yourself. Make sure that you record the time of day that you took the reading, as well as nearness to relevant events (like before/after medications, exercise, rising, etc). If your blood pressure shows a rising trend, or there are significant fluctuations, you should consult your doctor.

So, what are the "natural" options?

There are a diverse range of natural options, that might help you to manage hypertension. These include:

• Natural remedies that have been used in traditional medicines, such as High-Rite for High Blood Pressure Control
• Exercise programs which you can do under the guidance of your doctor or therapist. You can access further information about these from sites like this.
• Breathing exercises which help reduce stress as well as addressing your high blood pressure
• Meditation
• Accupuncture.

Blood Pressure Truth is an ebook, available for immediate download, which provides a comprehensive set of options for managing high blood pressure without drugs. It covers the options mentioned above and more. Click here for more information.