High blood pressure can damage blood vessels over time, increasing your risk for a heart attack. Primary treatment involves medications, dietary changes and self-care strategies such as stress reduction and exercise. Many natural supplements have been touted to treat high blood pressure and research suggests some might help. But you should not self-treat this serious condition with herbs without professional guidance, particularly if you already take medications for hypertension or any other condition.
Herbal Therapy as a Complement
You should view herbal therapy to treat high blood pressure as a complement to conventional management strategies. While a certain herb or other natural supplement might offer some benefit, none represents a magic bullet that will allow you to forego the most proven methods of reducing hypertension such as eating a diet low in sodium and exercising more. Taking a natural supplement for hypertension will not do much if you continue to eat mounds of salt daily.
Significance
Taking herbs that lower high blood pressure in conjunction with medications used for the same purpose can create problems. Lowering your blood pressure too much can be as serious as having high blood pressure. If using both at the same time, you might need to decrease your dosages of pharmaceutical medications to prevent this problem. This underscores the importance of professional guidance in using herbal medicines. Never stop taking a prescription medicine in favor of an herbal medicine.
Beneficial Herbs
The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that studies have shown that achillea wilhelmsii and hibiscus lower blood pressure in separate studies. It also notes that garlic might also exert a mild effect. Reishi mushroom, touted for a variety of ailments, might lower blood pressure, but it lacks strong scientific backing.
Cardiologychannel.com, a physician-developed website, also suggests some herbs that might help. Hawthorne appears to widen blood vessels, which allows blood to flow through more freely. It also notes mistletoe and coleus forskohlii might help. The site names rauwolfia as the most potent botanical treatment for high blood pressure.
Warnings
Use caution with garlic and reishi mushroom supplements if you take medications to thin your blood. The combination of both might compound this effect, leading to bleeding. Rauwolfia might cause nasal congestion. Do not use mistletoe in particular without supervision because taking too much can be toxic.
Other Natural Supplements
If you have an interest in using natural supplements to treat your hypertension, you should know that certain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients taken in supplement form might also help. The UMMC notes that fish oil might lower blood pressure but studies examining this effect used doses higher than normally recommended. Do so only under supervision because they can also interact with blood-thinning medications. Arginine and magnesium citrate might also help, according to the center. Cardiologychannel.com recommends calcium, vitamin C and coenzyme Q10.
Several homeopathic treatments have a history of use for high blood pressure. Homeopathy bases treatment suggestions on a variety of factors that extend beyond the ailment, such as personality and emotional states. Working with a homeopath will ensure getting the most effective treatment. Some examples include Argentum nitricum, Lachesis, Nux vomica and Calcarea carbonica.
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