Over 100 million American adults have high blood pressure and over a billion people around the world, making hypertension one of the most common of chronic health conditions. The major causes involve dysglycemia or out of control blood sugar, as well as elevated stress hormone (a.k.a. cortisol). While drugs are the treatment of choice, many of the medications used to control the condition are, like all pharmaceuticals, linked to side effects. The most commonly prescribed include the diuretics, which can cause electrolyte depletion, ace inhibitors, whose side effect profile is coughs, rashes and decreased ability to taste and the super toxic beta and calcium channel blockers, notorious for slowing down the heart and circulation, inducing lethargy and loss of libido. Fortunately, there are lots of non-medical strategies that can be used to lower blood pressure. Supplements can help. Potassium, magnesium and niacin have anti-hypertensive effects. Slow deep rhythmic breathing practices can help too. Likewise, meditation and soaking in a hot tub or just taking a warm shower can drop blood pressure, sometimes significantly. One of the more interesting ways to reduce hypertension is a protocol called “enhanced external counter pulsation” or EECP, a rapidly acting treatment that involves the wrapping of blood pressure cuffs around the calves, thighs and buttocks. As air is pumped into and then released from the cuffs, a pulsing action is created, dropping blood pressure by dilating vasculature, enhancing circulation to the heart and improving blood flow through veins and arteries. EECP can even stimulate the branching of cardiac blood vessels creating a natural bypass.
