Blood Pressure

Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is recorded using two numbers. The systolic pressure (higher number) is the force at which your heart pumps blood around your body.

The diastolic pressure (lower number) is the resistance to the blood flow in the blood vessels.

They're both measured in millimetres of mercury.  Mercury on the periodic table is written as ‘Mg’.

Everyone's blood pressure will be slightly different. What's considered low or high for one person may be normal for someone else.

Ideal blood pressure is accepted as being between 60/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg.  Written as between 60/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg.

High blood pressure 

High blood pressure is accepted as being 140/90 mmHg. Or above, and it is a difficult problem to spot, there are no recognisable symptoms.   A blood pressure test is available from your doctor’s surgery, some chemist shops, or there are blood pressure machines that can be bought from chemist shops or online.   It’s simple to do and well worth the cost.

If blood pressure is too high it will put extra strain on blood vessels, heart, brain, kidneys and eyes.   Sometimes blood pressure raises when the body or mind is put under pressure and stress occurs, an occasional rise, which goes down as stress is reduced is acceptable and normal.

If blood pressure remains too high, there is a risk of serious and life-threatening health conditions, heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, kidney disease, and even vascular dementia.

An individual is at an increased risk of high blood pressure if over 65 years of age, are overweight, have a relative with constant high blood pressure, have a high salt and fat intake, is failing to exercise enough, drink high amounts of alcohol or caffeine, smoke or do not have enough sleep.

Making healthy lifestyle changes can lower raised blood pressure, and this deserves a more in-depth article than this one, but what we put into our bodies has a huge impact on its health.  See ‘Food and Drink.’ And ‘The Holistic’, for help with this.  Also, exercise and mindset have an impact too, and these two topics will be covered on here in the future.   I will come back to links to these topics as time allows.

Low blood pressure is considered to be 90/60mmHg or lower, and it may be that an individual won’t realise that they have it, although there are some things to watch out for.

Light-headedness, dizziness, feeling sick, blurred vision, a general feeling of weakness, confusion or fainting.   All these are symptoms of low blood pressure, but they also can be symptoms of other illnesses, but it is well worth again having a blood pressure test.   If low blood pressure is suspected then a visit to the doctor is needed.

Most everyday symptoms can be relieved, and some illnesses can be cured using herbs to heal, blood pressure, whether high or low, will require the intervention of a physician, as will heart attack, broken bones, anaphylactic shock, and some other problems, it’s a matter of using common sense here and choosing which way is best to go.  Herbs tend to take time to begin to heal, they are not usually a quick fix, so again, common sense is one of the best tools in the healer's toolbox.

Herbs that can help with blood pressure.  Hawthorn Berries provide us with one of the best tonic remedies for the heart and circulatory system.  They act in a normalising way upon the heart by either stimulating or depressing its activity depending on the need.  In other words, Hawthorn Berries will move the heart to normal function in a gentle way.

Along with helping the cardiac and circulatory systems, it is also important to help the nervous system too, calming and helping with stress, here is where herbs come into their own.

Blood Pressure -

Hawthorn berries 2 parts – Use the decoction method of extraction.

Lime blossom 2 parts  - Use the infusion method of extraction.

Yarrow 2 parts            - Use the infusion method of extraction

Mistletoe 1 part. – Use the decoction method of extraction.

All four herbs can also be extracted using the Tincture method of extraction, in this way take 2-4 drops of each, and take three times daily.

Herbs for calming and relaxing. (The Nervous system)
Choose no more than four from the herbs below and take three times daily as required.

Black Cohosh
Californian poppy
Chamomile
Cramp bark
Hops
Hyssop
Lady's slipper
Lavender
Lime blossom
Mistletoe
Motherwort
Passion flower
Rosemary
St. John's wort
Skullcap
Valerian