Pressure changes in the vascular system can be an indication that your body isn’t properly regulating stress factors. As women, we can find ourselves needing to handle a multitude of tasks (often simultaneously), which can wreak havoc on our nervous systems over time.

Too much “overdoing it” without proper periods of rest puts us in a perpetual sympathetic state, stressing our hearts to pump blood more rapidly and causing strain on the vascular walls.

Combined with a poor diet/nutritional deficiencies, lack of physical activity, hormonal changes, other underlying health conditions or side effects of pharmaceutical medications, a consistently elevated blood pressure can cause further distress.

There are severe cases in which pharmaceutical medication is warranted as a first line of treatment. Your physician should be the one to guide you if this is the case. However, borderline hypertension (averaging under 150/90 mm Hg) can often be effectively regulated to normal levels with regular acupuncture and lifestyle modifications. A growing number of studies have indicated a temporary but clear effect of blood pressure lowering after applying different acupuncture treatment strategies. 

A thorough Chinese medical evaluation will determine which organs are the key players for your imbalance that is manifesting as high blood pressure. Most often, the heart, liver, stomach and kidney show up as areas of focus. 

A personalized plan of specific acupuncture points based on this Chinese medical diagnosis will most greatly yield beneficial results. I have found auricular (ear) acupuncture to be very effective in these cases and will often send a patient home with “ear tacks” that she can stimulate in between treatments. Other recommendations on diet, supplements and/or possibly Chinese herbs can be further made to restore balance to the organs and to maximize results. 

Sometimes, just starting a conversation about the stressors in a woman’s life can be helpful to identify (and possibly reduce) the triggers that may be elevating her blood pressure. A primary focus of acupuncture is to “Calm the Spirit,” as well as “Move Stagnant Qi (energy).” Both can result in an overall feeling of calm and reset the nervous system.

Other lifestyle changes include a healthy, balanced diet low in saturated fats and oils, sugars and additives. A regular sleep regimen is paramount for managing stress and allowing the organs to restore after a long day. Cutting back on excessive smoking and drinking will also improve the pliability of the blood vessels in your body. 

If you’re struggling with high blood pressure and would like to explore how Chinese Medicine can help, please schedule a consult today! We’re here to help.