According to the American Heart Association, about 74.5 million people in the United States age 20 and older have high blood pressure. This is about one in three adults. High blood pressure is defined as systolic pressure that averages 140mm Hg or higher, and/or a diastolic pressure that averages 90 mm Hg or more. However, anything above 120/80 is considered pre-hypertensive.
In a study published by the Journal of the American Heart Association, results showed that acupuncture significantly lowered average 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure for a six-week treatment, a randomized trial reported. However, the effect disappeared in three months after a cessation of acupuncture treatment. This suggests that ongoing treatment is required to maintain the effects of treatment. Read the full article here.
Most patients included in the study were already on antihypertensive drug therapy, and these patients were instructed to not change their medication throughout the study period, or to use over-the-counter drugs or herbal supplements. This is very important because in the real world, due to the high risks associated with hypertension, patients with high blood pressure should keep their medications unchanged while first seeking acupuncture care. If your numbers go down far enough, then of course you can talk with your prescribing M.D. about changing your drug therapy. But, especially in the case of hypertension, it is important to always have an M.D. monitoring your prescription drug therapy.
Acupuncture's holistic treatment of the body can also have a healthy influence on blood pressure.
Anxiety, which does not cause hypertension, but which can cause temporary spikes in your blood pressure that could potentially damage the cardiovascular system, is greatly alleviated by acupuncture.
Insomnia, which might be linked with hypertension, is also relieved with acupuncture.
And while researchers aren't sure if high stress is linked with hypertension, activities known to reduce hypertension can also reduce your stress level. A key example is exercising 30 to 60 minutes per day.
The point of mentioning anxiety, insomnia and stress is to remind readers that acupuncture is a holistic medicine that is capable of treating patterns in the body not just limited to a patient's chief complaint. And sometimes, when treating what might appear to be unrelated symptoms, your primary symptoms improve.
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