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Understanding the Causes and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Chinese Medicine

[Ming Pao News]From the perspective of Western medicine, 90% of hypertension is primary. However, Chinese medicine believes that high blood pressure has different causes, and emphasizes that it is necessary to understand the patient’s physical condition through observation, smell, questioning, and touch, so as to find out the cause and prescribe the right medicine. Daily diet, living habits, emotional stress, climate change, etc. may all be closely related to high blood pressure.

“Blood pressure is affected by different factors, such as emotions, sleep quality, etc.” Registered Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Cuiping said that even the posture of the body during the measurement is affected. Keeping track of your physical condition and explaining it to the medical staff during follow-up visits will help analyze the cause of high blood pressure.” Chen Cuiping added that there is no such thing as high blood pressure in Chinese medicine, “Chinese medicine classifies patients with clinical symptoms of high blood pressure into the category of ‘vertigo’.” Why high blood pressure belongs to the category of vertigo, Chen said because the most common and obvious symptoms of high blood pressure are dizziness and headache.

With the development of the times, Chen Cuiping said that modern Chinese medicine will also use Western medicine methods, such as using instruments to measure blood pressure, which can better understand the condition, and the standard of blood pressure is the same as Western medicine; at the same time, it cooperates with the four diagnostic methods of Chinese medicine – look, smell, ask, Cut to dialectical treatment. For different causes, treatment methods are also different.

‧Hyperactivity of liver yang in hot and humid weather

Urban people often suffer from high work pressure, lack of rest due to overwork, improper diet, etc., which lead to imbalance of viscera, qi and blood, and yin and yang, resulting in high blood pressure. In addition, Hong Kong has a climate in the south of the Five Ridges, which is hot and humid. Chen Cuiping said, “This kind of weather can easily induce phlegm dampness and kidney yin deficiency, and hyperactivity of liver yang can also lead to symptoms of high blood pressure.”

‧Eating disorders, red hands and face, be careful

City people socialize a lot, often drink alcohol and eat out, and love fried food, which causes phlegm and dampness and hurts the spleen and stomach. “Patients with phlegm-dampness will often experience stomach distension and discomfort, belching sour gas, and loose stools; while patients with kidney yin deficiency will suffer from sore waist and knees and often feel tired.” For patients with high blood pressure induced by eating disorders, usually at the same time If you are overweight, your blood lipids will also be high. Most of them belong to the type of phlegm-damp blocking collaterals, and the prescriptions mainly focus on drying dampness and resolving phlegm, invigorating the spleen and replenishing qi, such as cassia seed, tangerine peel, roasted licorice and astragalus. Chen Cuiping mentioned that if the patient’s hands and face are easily red, it may be blood stasis type hypertension. Such patients sometimes feel chest tightness, because there may be blood clots in the blood vessels, and they need to take some prescriptions for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis to lower blood pressure. At the same time, the coagulation in the blood vessels is removed at the same time, reducing the risk of stroke caused by blood clots blocking blood vessels.

‧Climacteric blood pressure fluctuations to relax

Menopausal women are subject to hormonal changes (estrogen and progesterone), which can cause vasoconstriction and increase blood pressure. This type of hypertension is characterized by frequent fluctuations in blood pressure. Chen Cuiping explained: “The common symptoms of women’s menopause are hot flashes and night sweats, flushed face and feeling of rising body temperature, all of which are symptoms of blood vessel congestion and rising blood pressure.” In addition, hormonal changes cause women’s physical discomfort and mood swings, and even appearance. The pressure brought about by change, together with work and life pressure, is also the cause of high blood pressure in menopausal women.

As for the countermeasures for menopausal mild hypertension, Chen believes that the best way is to relax the mind, which is the “flirting spirit” in Chinese medicine. A good mood will naturally improve the body; at the same time, pay attention to work and rest, and don’t overwork. Lack of sleep is also the cause of blood pressure rise. Exercise moderately to cultivate interest in life, and take care of troubles. You can also drink rose, osmanthus and jasmine tea in moderation, which can help soothe the liver and relieve depression, and ease the irritability of menopause.

However, if blood pressure continues to exceed normal levels during menopause, treatment is required. “A nearly 50-year-old female patient who is still busy at work finds that her blood pressure continues to be high. Unconsciously, menopause is approaching quietly. She thinks that her irritability is caused by unsatisfactory work. I prescribed a prescription for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis and cooling blood. After taking it, her blood pressure improved significantly. I also reminded her that she is more prone to emotional agitation when she enters menopause, and that she should relax and exercise more is the best way to treat it.”

‧Lipid and blood sugar affect blood pressure

Many people think that high blood pressure is a “disease of the elderly”. Li Xingyu, a nutritionist accredited by the Hong Kong Society of Dietitians (HKNS), shared that in her case, high blood pressure occurred in her 30s. Why are the three highs (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia) that everyone often says are often put together? Because the three diseases are interrelated. “Many people find that their blood pressure is too high during physical examination. The first reaction is that they have taken too much salt. In fact, this is only one of the factors.” At the same time, pay attention to blood lipid and blood sugar levels, both of which will directly affect blood pressure. Only by understanding the state of the body from multiple angles can we formulate a plan to improve high blood pressure.

Text: Zhang Jiahui

Editor: Liang Xiaoling

Art: Xie Weihao

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Ming Pao Health Net:health.mingpao.com

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2023-09-03 20:36:09

#Weather #Eating #Disorders #Climacteric #Expectations #Hearing #Hypertension #Prescribing #Medicine #BEAUTY #STYLE

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