What you didn't know about high blood pressure & how to control it

George DiGianni Health and Wellness

Nearly half of all adults (150 Million) in the United States have high blood pressure, according to the most recent statistics from the American Heart Association.

Could you benefit by defying your doctors advice to use meds for decreasing high blood pressure and rely on other proven methods?

Dr. Steven Helschien (www.zona.com) is the founder of Level 1 Diagnostics and Level 1 Therapeutics. He retired in 2000 to pursue his passion of creating new paradigms for preventative cardiology and integrative psychiatry. Dr. Helschien is considered a leading authority on heart rate variability, pulse wave velocity and carotid ultrasonography. He is also an expert on the use of neurofeedback and brain training. He has authored booklets on "Stress and Anxiety," "Blood Pressure," "Yoga," "Meditation," "Sleep", "Heart Health", and "Diabetes," and created a workbook, "Staying on Track.” His monthly articles can be found in the Townsend Letter for Doctors.

While adequate treatment is crucial and there are many approaches, from medication to lifestyle changes, controlling high blood pressure can be difficult.

Dr. Steven Helschien says non-med alternatives, such as exercise and diet, often can be effective remedies, and he thinks too many patients are using prescriptions when they could improve their blood pressure without medications and their side effects.

“Often in our society there’s a tendency to throw meds at a problem. That happens a lot with patients afflicted with high blood pressure. Some studies have shown a good number of people are over-treated."

Helschien discusses the non-prescription alternatives to treating high blood pressure and how the malady, if left unattended, can lead to many worsening health problems.

These are some questions I ask the doc:

Blood pressure issues used to be an older person issue. Is that still true?

What are some signs of high blood pressure will see/feel without visiting a doc's office

What are the challenges doctors often face when a patient needs attention for their blood pressure?

What do you believe MD’s need to do to inform their patients?

What are the most effective ways to reduce high blood pressure without using medications?

What are the most common side effects of blood pressure meds?