High Blood Pressure...it's a Symptom NOT a Disease!

High blood pressure is a subject that comes up regularly because it is so common, even in quite young people. It is sometimes referred to as 'the silent killer' as it can creep up on you without you being aware of it. It's considered to be a significant factor in increasing the risk of disability or death due to heart attack, stroke or kidney failure.

It is also generally considered to be a disease in its own right, but that is nonsense! High blood pressure is a SYMPTOM of a serious underlying problem. It must be addressed if you want to avoid the slippery slope down to poor health and ultimately death. (Sorry about being a little melodramatic, but it's so true).

Generally when someone finds out that they have high blood pressure they take the advice given by most Doctors and accept a prescription for anti hypertensive medication. But, are these medicines the best solution, or will they just speed up your slide down the 'slippery slope'?

Let's first review a few facts...

According to the New England Journal of medicine (August 2001) approximately 27% of the adult population of America has high blood pressure or hypertension. This amounts to around 43 million Americans. Of these it is estimated that 23.4 million take anti hypertensive medications. What is interesting is that only 42.9% get their high blood pressure down to acceptable levels, (but, at a cost to their overall health).

What constitutes high blood pressure or hypertension?

High blood pressure or hypertension is considered to have two levels or stages. Stage 1 hypertension refers to blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg and above. Stage 2 hypertension is when blood pressure exceeds 160/100 mm.

The first number is your systolic pressure and the second number is diastolic. Systolic pressure is the pressure which is exerted on your arteries when your heart is contracting. In other words, forcing blood out of the heart chambers into your arteries. The diastolic pressure is the pressure exerted on your arteries whilst your heart is resting between beats and being refilled with blood.

Optimal blood pressure is considered to be 120/80. Even in someone with optimal blood pressure it can fluctuate during the day depending upon activity. However, if your systolic pressure is consistently 140 or more then you would be considered to have high blood pressure with all the attendant risks.

Because you can have high blood pressure without any outward symptoms it makes sense to have a regular check up with your doctor so you can have it measured.

Factors that determine blood pressure

The obvious one is the heart. The harder your heart has to work to push the blood through your arteries and capillaries the greater the pressure it has to exert and thus the higher your blood pressure will be.

Your arteries and capillaries have to be in top condition to minimize the effort your heart has to exert to maintain the circulation. Unfortunately in most people their arteries and capillaries are not in top condition. There is usually plaque present which cause the arteries and capillaries to 'harden' and narrow.

Your arteries need to be resilient or elastic in order to allow blood to be easily pushed through them. If your arteries are lined with plaque they lose that elasticity or resilience. This combined with the layer of plaque creates significant restrictions and requires your heart to exert more pressure to get the blood through them. It's a bit like if you are watering the garden and someone partially stands on the hose! You then need to turn the tap on further to apply additional pressure to maintain the flow of water out the other end.

This is the cause of 'normal' high blood pressure. Where the real danger comes about for those people who have high blood pressure is when it is combined with the hormone epinephrine also known as adrenaline. This hormone is released during periods of high stress and accounts for a large proportion of fatalities through heart attack and strokes.

How do you stabilize high blood pressure?

Firstly, let's have a brief look at the medication used to lower blood pressure. It is usually in the form of beta-blockers or diuretics. They can be effective in treating the symptoms on a little under half the people who use them. But they do come at a price however. That price could be fatigue, impotence, and a number of other side effects including depression.

In fact, a computer survey of Medicare patients using beta-blockers revealed that one in four of them were also prescribed anti depressant drugs.

This is why taking medication for hypertension can potentially be the start of the 'slippery slope' that I referred to earlier. Even for those people who successfully lower their high blood pressure through drugs and they seem to be 'fine' in reality they are not because the underlying problem still remains.

Therefore if you suffer from high blood pressure and whether you are on blood pressure medication or not you should make every effort to cure yourself naturally and if on drugs wean yourself off them. Whilst you are taking the appropriate measures to reduce your blood pressure naturally make sure you have regular check ups and let your Doctor know what you are doing so that your medication can be progressively adjusted.

Quick tips for high blood pressure...

• If you are overweight... try to lose weight. Remember that as you add fat to your body you are also increasing the overall volume of blood that your body must carry and thus increase the work that your heart has to do in order to exert the pressure to ensure that it all circulates.

• Get some exercise. If you currently don't get any, start doing some, no matter how minimal it may be initially. Be careful not to overdo it!

• Avoid trans and hydrogenated fats and oils, or any food that is processed including baked goods.

• Increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables.

• Avoid smoking as this will contribute to narrowing the arteries.

• Try to reduce any stress in your life.

• If you are not overweight take ALL sugars out of your diet.

• Do what you can to clean your arteries. Certain enzymes and herbal extracts will help you to do this.

What is the best natural supplement for blood pressure?

There are a number of herbal products which will lower blood pressure almost instantly but we neither discuss them or sell them. The reason for this is that they come into the category of medicines and should not be self prescribed. If you have an urgent need to lower your blood pressure then see a qualified herbalist or naturopath and they may be able to help. Some of these herbs should only be taken under expert supervision.

Bear in mind that anything that reduces blood pressure quickly is only a ‘band aid’. It is not a permanent fix as it does not get to the cause of the problem which is the systematic clogging up of the arteries.

To get your circulation and blood pressure back to a healthy state you must do everything you can to ‘spring-clean’ your arteries.

In addition to the above tips I would suggest that you consider taking our Cardio-Klenz and our Omega 3 DHA fish oil. The Cardio-Klenz has been specifically designed to help ‘spring-clean’ your arteries and to strengthen your entire circulation system. There are no down sides or negative side effects. It would be a fair statement to say that it is the most advanced and effective natural supplement on the market today for this purpose.

I would suggest a course of Cardio-Klenz for everyone over 40 years of age irrespective whether you have any symptoms or not. Take it for 6 months of the year.

If on the other hand you have symptoms of any form of heart disease then you should consider taking it for 12 months or more. The Omega 3 DHA should of course be taken by everyonepermanently.

If you are already taking Total Balance and/or Cholest-Natural it is still OK to add the Cardio-Klenz to your regime.

In good health,

Warren Matthews

Reader Comments (11)

Hello Warren,

I'm not over weight. i n fact i'm trying to increase my weight.

I don't have a high blood pressure.actually i had a low pressure 2 years ago for some few days only. and i'm a smoker.I have T.B plus / Omega-3 regularly.

Do you think its a good idea of taking cardio klenz since i like the idea of spring cleaning you've mentioned specially i'm a smoker.

Thanks a lot.