High Blood Pressure Causes and Symptoms

It is estimated that between one-quarter to one-half of citizens in the United States have high blood pressure and, because of this, they have an elevated risk of experiencing a stroke, heart attack or sudden death. It is most unfortunate that currently prescribed drug therapy does little good and a lot of harm.

An important medical report of various clinical studies having to do with treating blood pressure with drugs, arrived at the following conclusions:

"There will be no appreciable benefit to an individual from treating a diastolic pressure of less than 100mm Hg.”

"Secondly, there is no evidence that any particular level of systolic pressure should be treated, and thus there is no reason to treat patients with isolated systolic hypertension, however that might be defined."

"Thirdly, blood pressure varies… It is prudent to check the pressure on several occasions before deciding whether to treat…"

Fourthly, it is probably more important to stop a patient smoking than to treat his mildly raised blood pressure."

Overly aggressive high blood pressure treatment with drugs will result in an elevated risk of strokes, heart attacks and death, particularly when those drugs lower the diastolic pressure below 85-90mm Hg. some researchers even go so far as to state that reducing blood pressure below 105mm Hg with drugs will produce an elevated risk of heart attack. We must consider the possibility that this sudden decrease in blood pressure also decreases the flow of blood to the heart muscle. This connection is true only for people with low blood pressure on medication - a normal pressure of 110/70 and no medication shows good health.

High blood pressure is not a normal inevitable disease that occurs with aging. Instead, high blood pressure is a symptom of a life threatening illness of the vascular blood system. Rather, they are afflicted with atherosclerosis creating plaques that clog the arteries. The excessive fats we consume cause the blood to thicken with sludge and the blood vessels to constrict and the spasm to the point that the blood moves too slowly because of the resistance. The presence of plaques take up space that is normally available for the flow of blood. A loss of elasticity in the walls of the arteries results in serious resistance to the normal easy flow of blood. Because of this resistance, the pressure on the arterial walls rises, in the same way that the pressure in a garden hose rises when you place your finger over the nozzle.

The major symptom of this problem is high blood pressure and treating this does not address the underlying cause. When a person develops pneumonia it would be foolish to treat only the fever. If we were to do this, our patient would soon be dead. In the same way regarding high blood pressure, the actual disease is the sludged blood and the sick blood vessels. That underlying disease must be healed or the patient's life will tragically end.

When the doctor looks at the risk of heart attack, stroke or death for a patient, high blood pressure is only one symptom to indicate the extent of the disease that has affected the blood vessels. Other signs of risk would be blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, age, family history and obesity.

The main reason for the presence of high blood pressure is a few years of eating like a king and wolfing down lots of rich foods, filled with fats, sugar and salt, that you cannot refuse. It doesn't take very long to alter the flow of blood in the blood vessels. One in eight students in high school in the USA has already developed high blood pressure. If a person does not watch his diet is blood vessels will become so diseased that inevitably a vessel will be blocked by a clot or it will rupture killing parts of the heart muscle or the brain leaving him as an invalid for the duration of his life if it does not outright kill him. In fact, such an event often kills the entire body in only a few seconds.

It is absolutely imperative that health and vigor be restored to the blood vessels as soon as possible otherwise they may burst to the inside or to the outside. Blood vessels will begin to heal when the afflicting foods and habits are stopped. Changing our diet to foods that are high in potassium, low in sodium, have no cholesterol and are low in fat will allow the blood to begin to flow much more easily in only a few short hours. In other words, the healing begins when the fats stop coating the blood cells which had been causing them to stick together. Blood vessel spasms will also stop within hours when we have brought an end to the spasms and the sludging, blood pressure will often become normal in under 48 hours.

At this time, if one is taking blood pressure medications, they must be quickly lowered once the new diet has begun in order to avoid low blood pressure, dizziness and weakness. On the day the changeover diet begins, it is a good rule of some to stop all blood pressure medications if the patient is on fewer than four mild pills daily. There can be exceptions to the sudden stopping of medication when there is greater severity in the blood pressure condition than is usual or if the patient is currently taking Beta-blockers.

If high dosages of medication are being given to the patient, this shows that a serious health problem exists. With strong medication, it is good to cut dosages in half every three days until the amount of drugs taken is not significant. At that point medications can be stopped completely. It is good to stop beta-blockers slowly to avoid the occurrence of chest pain and rapid pulse that often accompanies withdrawal. One needs the aid of a doctor to do this

Blood pressure measurements should be taken once each day at a minimum. The goal is a blood pressure of 110/70 or less with no drugs. Drugs to decrease pressure may be prescribed when the pressure is shown to be greater than 100mm Hg diastolic (lower number). When taking blood pressure drugs the target is to reduce the pressure to approximately 85-90 mm Hg diastolic. It should not be brought lower since a blood pressure that is too low as a result of drugs invites more strokes, heart attacks and death. Of course, it is healthy to have low blood pressure without drugs.

To restore the health of your blood vessels, switch to a plant-based, starch-based, low fat, low salt diet. Include daily exercise to bring your pressure down. Stop taking your blood pressure medications quickly but with a doctor’s supervision. Give attention to all other health risk factors that you can control like your weight, triglycerides and cholesterol and personal lifestyle habits such as drinking alcohol, coffee smoking and a sedentary lifestyle.

This piece is adapted from an article by Dr. John McDougall.  You can read the original article and look at the scientific studies that have been done to support this presentation by clicking here Dr. McDougall

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