Maintain Emotional Optimism
Many modern medical researches have showed that worries, sadness, anxiety, irritability, mental disorders and other adverse mental disturbances can increase the secretion of vasoactive substances called catecholamine. These substances can increase the blood pressure, and thus hypertensive patients should control their emotions by excluding any pessimistic thinking. The elimination of mind diffusion and illusion are important to maintain the normal function of nerve center which helps lowering blood pressure.
Family Therapy
Every hypertensive patient should schedule for healthy living lifestyle by adopting appropriate diet, exercise and relaxation. Patients should not wear tight pants, shorts, trousers, and clothes with their collars or buttons tightly tied up, tightly tied necktie or tightly tied zip, as this situation may constrain the blood vessels and thus elevating the blood pressure. Patients should attempt in their endeavors to avoid constipation or passing gas as this consequence will increase abdominal pressure, and may later cause the sudden rise of blood pressure. During hard defecation, patients can use laxative pills to help for smooth bowel movement; nevertheless, this is not encouraged. The appropriate way is to increase foods high in cellulose to assist in the bowel action.
Adequate exercise, long-term and persistence walk, jogging, Taijiquan, cycling and swimming can decrease blood pressure. Adequate and proper rest can eliminate excessive tension too. Patients should bear in mind that excessive tension, stress and fatigue can cause elevated blood pressure. Therefore, in order to avoid pressure, stress and body fatigue, patients should learn to control their tempers by concentrating more efforts on resolving their problems. Qigong and Yoga are good practices for hypertensive patients to get better rest. Smoking and excessive drinking are not good for the health of hypertensive patients.
Patients should avoid having sexual intercourse with their partners if their blood pressures are abnormal and not stable. Patients should not expose under the direct sunlight for too long. Patients should monitor the blood pressure timely with a measuring device at least once or twice in a week. The first elevated blood pressure reading is not an appropriate indicator of hypertension, so patients need to get 4 to 5 blood pressure readings within a day in order to obtain its average reading that helps monitoring the condition of their blood pressure. Prior to any measurements, patients should calm themselves by taking 15 minutes rest. Patients should avoid bending over while reading or watching television as this action will oppress the blood vessels to constraint and subsequently causing cerebral vascular disturbances, ischemia, hypoxia, and sometimes may prone to unexpected accidents.
Music is a good remedy that can regulate the body's nerve function. However, fast-pace, quick and loud music can lead to the tense of peripheral nerves, vascular dementia and disturbances, blood circulation disorders, resulting in the surge of blood pressure. Therefore, patients should keep their ears to slow-pace and soft music to maintain the normal blood circulation. Speakers should not be placed too close and music should not be turned on too loud to avoid vascular disturbances. Patients are not encouraged to wear headphones or spend too much time in front of the television, video games or computers as this may oppress the peripheral blood vessels and nerves, worsen the blood circulation that leads to high level of blood pressure.
Chinese Medicine Treatment
Chinese medicine acupuncture, massage, and Chinese herbs have good effects towards high blood pressure. In Chinese herbal medicine, Peony root, Eucommia, Prunella vulgaris and wild chrysanthemum are commonly used to treat hypertension.
Adequate Calcium Supplementation
Generally, hypertensive patients have shown low intake of calcium. Some studies have proved that daily intake of 800mg of calcium rich foodstuffs are useful in treating hypertension. According to another clinical research conducted in Korea, hypertensive patients who have the supplementary of 1000mg of calcium for eight consecutive weeks, have showed a significant decrease in their blood pressures. Hence, patients should increase the calcium intake by consuming calcium rich foodstuffs so that their blood pressures can be improved. In short, the increase of diet high in calcium is an effective measure to prevent or reduce the occurrences of high blood pressure.
Patients are encouraged to take at least 1g of calcium per day in their daily diet for a healthy blood pressure. Foods that rich in calcium include soybean, sunflower seeds, walnuts, peanuts, dates, seaweed, kelp, etc.
Adequate Mmagnesium Supplementation
Some studies have proved that daily intake of 300mg of magnesium is useful in the treatment of hypertension. A variety of vegetables include seeds, nuts, beans, peas and dark vegetables are rich in calcium and magnesium. Celery benefits the patients as it has great medicinal property to reduce the stress of vascular walls. Other foods that beneficial hypertension include Chinese wolfberry, liensinine, tomatoes, hawthorn, onions, kelp, wakame (Japanese green, dried seaweed) and Konbu (Japanese black, dried seaweed).
