[Traditional Chinese Medicine Beyond the Line]Find out the cause of the disease and prescribe the right medicine to lower blood pressure

Text: Zhang Jiahui (Hong Kong News)

“Blood pressure is affected by different factors, such as mood, sleep quality, etc.” Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Cuiping said that even the body posture when measuring is affected. “It is recommended that patients with blood pressure problems regularly measure 2 or 3 times a day and pay attention to the moment.” Explain your physical condition to medical staff during follow-up visits, which will help analyze the causes of high blood pressure.”

Chen Cuiping added that there is no such disease as hypertension in traditional Chinese medicine. “In traditional Chinese medicine, patients with clinical manifestations of hypertension are classified into the category of ‘vertigo’.” Why high blood pressure falls into the dizziness category, she said, because the most common and obvious symptoms of high blood pressure are dizziness and headache.

Blood pressure standards are the same as those of Chinese and Western medicine

Chen Cuiping said that with the development of the times, modern Chinese medicine will also use Western medicine methods, such as using instruments to measure blood pressure, to better understand the condition, and the standards for blood pressure are the same as those of Western medicine; at the same time, it will cooperate with the four diagnostic methods of Chinese medicine – sight, smell, and Ask and cut to diagnose and treat syndrome. For different causes, treatment methods are also different.

◆Excessive liver yang in hot and humid weather

Urban people often suffer from high work pressure, overwork, lack of rest, improper diet, etc., which lead to imbalance of yin and yang in the internal organs, qi and blood, resulting in high blood pressure. In addition, Hong Kong has a Lingnan climate, which is hot and humid. She said, “This kind of weather can easily induce phlegm-dampness obstruction and kidney-yin deficiency. Hyperactivity of liver-yang can also lead to symptoms of high blood pressure.”

◆Watch out for redness of hands and face due to eating disorders

Urban people socialize a lot, often drink alcohol and eat out, and they also like delicious fried foods, which can cause phlegm and dampness and damage the spleen and stomach. “Patients with phlegm-dampness will often experience stomach bloating and discomfort, vomiting sour and rotten gas, and loose stools; while patients with kidney yin deficiency will experience pain in the waist and knees and often feel tired.”

“Patients with high blood pressure caused by eating disorders are usually overweight and have high blood lipids. They often have phlegm-dampness blocking the collaterals. The prescriptions are mainly to dry dampness and resolve phlegm, strengthen the spleen and replenish qi, such as Cassia Seed , tangerine peel, licorice and astragalus, etc.”

She mentioned that if the patient’s hands and face are prone to redness, it may be blood stasis type hypertension. Such patients sometimes feel chest tightness because there may be blood coagulation in the blood vessels, and they need to take some prescriptions to activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis. , while lowering blood pressure, it also removes coagulation in blood vessels and reduces the risk of stroke caused by blood clots blocking blood vessels.

◆Relaxation due to blood pressure fluctuations during menopause

Menopausal women are affected by changes in hormones (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: “Common symptoms of women’s menopause are hot flashes and night sweats, flushed face and rising body temperature, which are all symptoms of blood vessel congestion and rising blood pressure.” In addition, hormonal changes cause physical discomfort, mood swings, and even changes in appearance for women. Changes bring stress, coupled with work and life pressure, which are also causes of high blood pressure in menopausal women.

Regarding the countermeasures for mild high blood pressure during menopause, Chen believes that the best way is to relax, which is the “flirting mind” of traditional Chinese medicine. A good mood will naturally make your body good. At the same time, you should pay attention to your work and rest, and avoid overexertion. Lack of sleep is also a cause of rising blood pressure. Exercise moderately, cultivate interest in life, and be more open-minded about “annoying” things. You can also drink rose, osmanthus and jasmine tea in moderation, which can help soothe the liver and relieve depression, and relieve the irritability of menopause.

However, if your blood pressure continues to exceed normal levels during menopause, you may need treatment. “A nearly 50-year-old female patient who was still dealing with many things at work found that her blood pressure continued to be high, and she was approaching menopause unknowingly. She thought her irritability was caused by her unsatisfactory work. I prescribed a prescription that promotes blood circulation, removes blood stasis, and cools blood. Her blood pressure improved significantly after taking it. I also reminded her that she is more likely to be agitated during menopause and that relaxing and exercising more are the best treatments.”

◆Blood lipids and blood sugar affect blood pressure

Many people believe that high blood pressure is an “elderly disease”. Li Xingyu, a nutritionist accredited by the Hong Kong Nutritionist Society (HKNS), shared that one of her cases developed high blood pressure in her 30s.

Why are the three high blood pressures (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and high blood sugar) often mentioned together? Because the three diseases are related to each other.

“Many people have high blood pressure during physical examinations. Their first reaction is to take in too much salt. In fact, this is only one of the factors. You should pay attention to blood lipids and blood sugar levels at the same time. Both of them will directly affect blood pressure. From many angles Only by understanding your body’s condition can you develop a plan to improve your high blood pressure.”

Do not stop taking medicine without permission

Sudden highs and lows in blood pressure may damage the kidneys

Many patients with hypertension want to stop taking antihypertensive drugs after their blood pressure returns to normal levels after taking them for a period of time, and they also neglect to improve their living habits.

Chinese medicine practitioner Chen Cuiping reminds that healthy blood pressure needs to be maintained at a stable level. Sudden highs and lows can cause blood vessel pressure to change, which may have a greater impact on the kidneys than long-term high blood pressure.

Patients do exercises step by step

Keeping blood pressure stable helps protect the kidneys, which is very important for patients who have suffered from hypertension for many years. She said that there are big differences in the treatment of early, middle and late-stage hypertension with traditional Chinese medicine. For patients who have started taking western medicine to lower blood pressure and have suffered from hypertension for many years, it is recommended not to stop taking western medicine and use traditional Chinese medicine to help find the root cause of the problem. The best policy is to keep blood pressure stable and not worsen.

“It is important to stabilize blood pressure and keep blood vessels elastic, especially in Hong Kong, where the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors is huge. If blood vessels are not elastic enough, the risk of stroke will increase.”

Do abdominal breathing when feeling stressed

Although most high blood pressure is primary, there are actually signs. Moderate exercise, maintaining a calm mind, and getting enough sleep are all helpful for high blood pressure of different causes.

Nutritionist Li Xingyu said that patients with high blood pressure should exercise gradually, especially those with high blood lipids and obesity. Like healthy people, they should exercise three times a week for at least 30 minutes each time, but the intensity of exercise should match their physical condition. You can consider For aerobic exercise such as sky-walking, when the exercise is too fast and too fast, and you are out of breath and unable to speak, you need to rest.

Chen Cuiping reminded that it is very important to reduce work pressure and have a calm mind. Try not to take work home with you. When you feel stressed, you can do abdominal breathing and meditation to help calm you down. In addition, a study by the University of Chicago pointed out that long-term lack of sleep may cause high blood pressure. The study found that if the sleep time is 1 hour less than normal (8 hours), the risk of hypertension will increase by 37%, and if the sleep time is 2 hours less, the risk will increase by 86%. %.

Hypertension is a common chronic disease among urbanites.

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition,

The normal value of blood pressure is systolic blood pressure (commonly known as upper pressure) below 140mmHg.

Diastolic blood pressure (commonly known as downward pressure) is below 90mmHg.

According to the guidelines of the Center for Health Protection,

Adult upper pressure is between 120 and 139mmHg.

A pressure between 80 and 89 mmHg is considered prehypertension.

Blood pressure needs to be measured and monitored regularly, and lifestyle habits must be improved to reduce blood pressure to a healthy level. “

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