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Vashi2Panvel.com: Navi Mumbai: October 25: According to a world health report 1997, of over 15 million deaths due to circulatory diseases, 7.2 million were caused by coronary heart disease, 4.6 million by stroke, 500 000 by rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, and 3 million by other forms of heart disease.

What is hypertension?
Hypertension is a condition in which the blood pressure is persistently higher than normal. It is more common in men than women, especially from middle age onwards. The pressure of the blood as it flows through the arteries and veins varies naturally. It is lower when the body is at rest and rises during physical exertion. It can also rise temporarily in response to stress. However, if your blood pressure is persistently higher than normal, even when you are resting or relaxed, you are suffering from hypertension. High blood pressure puts extra strain on the heart and the circulatory system. It poses a serious risk to health by increasing the likelihood of coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. Occasionally, it can give rise to other serious complications. The increased risk relates not only to how high your blood pressure is but for how long it has remained raised.

What causes hypertension and who is at risk?
There is very often no single direct cause of hypertension. For many people, high blood pressure is a natural consequence of getting older; this is known as ‘essential hypertension’. There is some evidence that essential hypertension is genetically linked. The arteries harden and become narrower as a result of ageing or a high fat diet. This restricts the circulation of blood through the body making the heart work harder to keep the blood flowing. This increases blood pressure. A number of factors can increase the risk of hypertension or make the problem worse.
These include:
• Lack of exercise
• Stress
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Excess alcohol consumption

Sometimes, however, there are specific causes. These include:
• Kidney problems
• Some heart conditions
• Complications during pregnancy
• Certain hormone imbalances
• Side effects of drugs such as steroids or
‘hair-restoring’ creams

Common symptoms and complications of hypertension
Essential hypertension produces few, if any, specific symptoms. It is usually diagnosed by chance when your blood pressure is measured as part of a routine health check or during an examination for another problem or after a stroke or heart attack. When very severe, hypertension can produce:
• breathlessness
• headaches
• dizziness

Symptoms of complications include:
• Kidney problems
• Eye problems
• Seizures (‘fits’)

Dos and don’ts of hypertension
It's not certain that you can prevent it, but it's reasonable to think that the same practices that help control it might also prevent or postpone it. Here's what to do:
• Maintain a healthy weight. Losing even a few pounds if you're overweight can reduce blood pressure. Weight loss (achieved through diet and exercise) can sometimes bring hypertension under control without the need for drugs, or with lower doses of drugs.
• Don't smoke. A person with high blood pressure who smokes is at serious risk. Every cigarette raises blood pressure. Quitting lowers it.
• Exercise regularly. Exercise is useful in both preventing and treating hypertension. For one thing, it can help you lose weight. It can also lower your blood pressure somewhat, though it's not understood exactly how this happens. There are other benefits beyond blood pressure reduction: for instance, regular aerobic exercise reduces your risk of heart attack. If you are sedentary and just beginning an exercise program to combat hypertension, remember that you may not see the effects for months. But just 30 minutes of brisk walking four or five times a week can eventually make a difference.
If you already have high blood pressure and plan to exercise intensely, you should first discuss your program with your doctor. Neither exercise nor any other life-style modification is a panacea, however, or a substitute for anti hypertensive drugs if these are needed.
• Eat a diet rich in fruits, grains, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products.
• Keep your sodium intake low (below 2,400 milligrams daily). There's bitter dispute among scientists and others about this recommendation, but we think it's a good one. There's plenty of evidence that a high sodium intake drives up blood pressure in some people. A high-sodium diet has no advantages and many disadvantages. For instance, the typical salty diet is likely to contain lots of processed foods, be low in vitamins and minerals, and be high in fat. Reducing sodium intake is often an important step in treating high blood pressure.
• If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation: no more than one drink daily for a woman, or two for a man.

Hypertension and Homeopathy.
Homeopathy studies the entire personality of the patient of hypertension and aims for a constitutional remedy. When this is rightly selected, it is often a permanent cure for the particular patient. Besides the well-selected constitutional remedy, the following drugs are useful, Amyl Nitrosum - This is a homeopathic vasodilator. Two to five drops in handkerchief, inhaled, causes the arteries to dilate, reducing blood pressure.. Arum Mur – Hypertension due to hardening of the arteries (arterisclerosis). Bartya – M- this is especially useful in old people where there is great difference in the upper and lower blood pressure reading. For example, patient with blood pressure of 200/80 would respond well to this medicine. Belladonna - - throbbing headaches, worsened by light and noise.
Once you have started your homeopathic medication we recommend change in lifestyle and gradual tapering of allopathic doses.

By Dr. Mukesh Batra,
L.C E.H (Mumbai), F.H.M.A (UK), F.S.R.H. (Med), M.D.H. (U.S.), F.B.I.H (U.K.).
CMD, Dr Batras’ Positive Health Clinic Ltd.

For further details on the ailments please write to help@drbatras.com, or call our homeopathy health line number 1600 11 6767 or 1600 22 6767. You can also visit our website: www.drbatras.com.