High Blood Pressure Be Gone

Archive for the ‘hypertension dialogues’ Category

Yes, garlic can help to lower blood pressure.  Which is a good thing because I love garlic and use it all the time in salad dressings and pasta sauces.

If garlic really isn’t your ‘cup of tea’ it’s available in a convenient supplement form. You can get garlic capsules that come with the benefits of natural garlic but without the delicious taste and aroma that some don’t care for.

Coenzyme Q, or CoQ10, is a supplement that is getting popular lately as a supplement that can help reduce blood pressure levels.  It’s a powerful antioxidant and can help with migraine headaches too. Sometimes it is combined with hawthorn to increase its effectiveness.

I take hawthorn tincture every morning but haven’t tried CoQ10 yet. If anyone has noticed good results from Coenzyme please leave a comment.

Then there’s fish oil which is good for reversing high cholesterol or lowering blood pressure.  Fish oil helps to lower ‘bad’ cholesterol levels, which is good. Fish oil also contains DHA which helps the brain function properly, as well as lowering blood pressure. I take two capsules of cod liver oil (1100 mg in total) every morning.

Calcium, magnesium, and potassium also help lower high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels.  Calcium also strengthens bones and teeth, while magnesium (they say) helps maintain your sense of calm and well-being.  Keeping adequate potassium levels in your blood is essential to balance the salt levels and keep you blood pressure down.

Folic acid (a B vitamin) is also important to help maintain healthy blood pressure levels and good cholesterol levels.  As well as helping to lower blood pressure, folic acid reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke. It can also promote better memory function. I can remember all this because I usually take a folic acid supplement at least one a week.

On top of this healthy lifestyle of good food and supplements be sure to get some exercise. Go for a walk, stretch those muscles, smell the roses, say hi to your neighbors.

Here’s a little secret: Often I feel lazy. I don’t feel like exercising. But I force myself to get out there for a walk anyway. And you know what? Once I’m out there I really enjoy it and am glad I’m out.

Don’t let the thought of exercise put you off. Do it anyway and you’ll be happy you did. You feel better, more relaxed, and your blood pressure will only come down because of it.

Take care all,
Simon

It’s that time of year when we get the sniffles and blocked noses. No problem. Just take some decongestants from the local drug store right?

Think twice about doing it if you suffer from high blood pressure. Decongestants can shoot your high blood pressure up to dangerous levels.

If you ask for decongestants at the drug store the pharmacist will (or should) ask if you suffer from high blood pressure and if you do, s/he will usually refuse to sell them to you.

The problem is, many decongestants are now available off the shelf without the need to consult a pharmacist.

Sure, there probably is a warning in fine print about the connection between hypertension and decongestants … but does everybody read the fine print? I’m guilty of skipping it and I’m sure I’m not alone.

So if you are prone to high blood pressure give decongestants (sold as Contac Non-Drowsy, Sudafed, among other names) a wide berth. There are better ways to unblock a stuffed up nose.

Like blowing it. If your sinuses are are getting clogged try Tiger Balm. Put a small amount on a handkerchief and inhale. Lovely aroma and helps open up the passages.

Or try sucking on some menthol eucalyptus sweets.

I’m sure there are other pleasant and safe ways of unblocking a stuffed up nose.  If you know of one please share the wealth and leave a comment.

Don’t let the title fool you. High blood pressure is no laughing matter. But laughing could help.

Dealing with hypertension can be a tricky business because there is usually no single clearly identifiable cause. It can be a mixture of things such as diet, lack of exercise, genetics, and … attitude.

It’s been well known that stress can cause our blood pressure to rise. Arguing with your partner probably isn’t good for your BP. Get stuck in traffic jams when you’re late for an appointment probably doesn’t help either. The list could go on but you get the point.

Our mental attitude can effect our blood pressure. The problem is we can’t just consciously lower our blood pressure or the rate of our heartbeat -  like we can alter our breathing patterns, for example.

The good news is that we can alter our unconscious blood pressure regulator by indirect methods. Breatheasy slow breathing exercises, and Christian Goodman’s 3 exercises to lower blood pressure are examples of stress reducing exercises that can have a positive effect on our BP.

Another is laughter. Get sense of humour. Watch some good comedies on TV or the local theater. Get a good joke book. Have a laugh. De-stress. Try to look at things from the from the lighter side. All these things can help reduce your blood pressure and give your poor old heart a break.

To kick-start the process, here’s one of my favourate jokes.

…..

Husband and Wife

Husband has lately got into healthy eating and organics and yells at the wife who is going out the door to buy some vegetables at the local grocery store – “Make sure it’s organic!”

At the store the wife asks the young clerk (who’s new on the job) “Are these organic?” pointing at the array of fresh vegetables on display.

Unsure, the clerk responds “What do you mean by organic?”

Losing her patience the wife responds sharply “LOOK, I’M BUYING THESE VEGETABLES FOR MY HUSBAND … AND I NEED TO KNOW  …  HAVE THEY BEEN SPRAYED WITH POISON?!?”

“Oh, no mam”, answers the clerk, “you have to do that yourself.”

….

That’s a bit of Welsh sense of humour I heard from Roy Noble on Radio Wales. He has a chat show Monday to Friday 2 pm to 4 pm GMT (that’s  9 am to 11 am Eastern USA). You can tune in here: BBC Radio Wales, sit back and relax. Listening to Roy Noble could lower your blood pressure.

I advocate natural methods such as diet and exercise as the best treatment for hypertension.

The advantage of treating hypertension with alternative methods have clear benefits over medication. (See high blood pressure medication side effects)

Sure, lowering your blood pressure naturally is not a quick fix for hypertension. But if you start now you will begin to see the results within a matter of weeks. As the months roll by your blood pressure will steadily come down until its within a range you can comfortably live with.

But here’s the rub:

After you embark on the road of natural treatment for hypertension there’s no going back to the lifestyle that gave you high blood pressure in the first place. Slip back to a poor diet, no exercise, and stressful living you blood pressure will probably rise too.

This is especially true if you have hypertension “in the family”, like I do. Having a genetic propensity to high blood pressure means you have to stick to a healthy lifestyle to keep hypertension at bay.

The simple fact is that those of us who are inclined towards developing hypertension can’t be so relaxed about our lifestyle. We have to work at getting our blood pressure down and keeping it down.

But maintaining a healthy low blood pressure lifestyle isn’t such a bad deal. It’s not a joyless life of self-denial. Far from it. It just requires some moderation and common sense.

With regarding dietary changes, at first it may seem a little difficult to change old habits but after a short while you’ll find your taste and desire in food falling in line.

When you know that what you’re eating is actively restoring your health you will find it tastes great too. There must be a psychological component to our sense of taste.

Natural treatment for hypertension can a have a positive affect on your whole life. With a good diet and ample exercise you will begin to feel new energy and optimism. Your whole life will be positively affected – your relationships, your work, your pastimes, your love life.

If you need to learn about what alternate treatments for hypertension my be best for you for check out alternative high blood pressure cures review

According to the medical establishment, the “experts”, the cause of 90% of high blood pressure is unknown. But the fact is that the causes of high blood pressure are well known. (There are also a number of methods to treat high blood pressure without drugs.)

What the medical establishment is actually saying when it states the causes are ‘unknown’ is that for the vast majority of people with high blood pressure, a single identifiable cause for their condition can’t be proved beyond doubt.

If we look at the actual statistics and our own personal experiences then the major causes of hypertension isn’t that hard to figure out.

The following are the five main causes of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure caused by Modern Diet

That frozen take-home meal may taste great, not to mention fast and convenient. It might also be slowly killing us. I’m talking about highly processed foods full of saturated fats, trans-fats, salt, etc. Over time all these unnecessary additives clog up our system and increase our blood pressure. These days we are literally eating ourselves to death.

The good news is that there are all sorts of delicious alternatives. Better yet, by switching to a healthy and tasty diet we can reverse the effects of of diet caused high blood pressure back to healthy pressure.

If you want to switch to a healthy blood pressure lowering diet you cant’ do any better than following Kevin Riley’s excellent guide Get Natural! Drop Your Blood Pressure

High blood pressure caused by Lack of Exercise

Modern lifestyles and and endless stream of entertainment on the TV and the Internet doesn’t encourage an active lifestyle. Which is a pity because there’s nothing our heart and blood circulatory system loves more than a daily workout.

High blood pressure caused by Stress

Stress is not always as easy to detect as you make think. Even after you have left the office and have left yet another bumper to bumper commute behind you, stress can hang on and infiltrate many other areas of your life. Some people are more prone to stress than others. Some stress may be good for you. But too much for too long can lead to hypertension.

Thankfully, if your prone to stress build up there are ways to relief it and see it off – and lower your blood pressure as a consequence. I take 15 minutes off a day to do slow breathing exercises with the help of BreathEasy. It keeps me in a calmer disposition and my blood pressure in a healthy range. Christian Goodman also offers stress busting exercises for hypertension.

High blood pressure caused by Genetics

High blood pressure tends to run in families. If your parents suffer from high blood pressure the likelihood of you developing it are greater. Some people are simply more to get high blood pressure simply due to their genetic structure.

That doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can do about though. If you have high blood pressure ‘in the genes’ it just means that you have to work a little harder at achieving and maintaining a healthy range.

High blood pressure caused by  Age

Yep, its a fact that as we get older our blood circulatory system ages with us. Veins tend to constrict and harden (aka. atherosclerosis). The flow is decreased and the pressure decreases.

The medical establishment used to take this into account when determining acceptable blood pressure. It used to be systolic 100 plus your age was considered OK.

Now there’s nothing we can do about getting older. It happens to all of us, rich or poor, celebrity or hermit. But there is a number of things we can do to arrest the ravages of time pumping up our blood pressure.

Know the cause – know the cure

These are the five main causes causes of high blood pressure. The first three causes (diet, lack of exercise, stress) are a symptom of 21st century lifestyle while the other two causes (genetics and aging) are inescapable parts of being human.

Hypertension (the medical term for high blood pressure) caused by the first three causes are easier to cure. We simply have to change or diet, start exercising and de-stressing. There are guides to help us accomplish this. For a comprehensive guide that covers all causes and natural cures see The High Blood Pressure Remedy Report.

Hypertension caused by aging can also be countered by adopting a healthy lifestyle. The effects of aging on your circulatory system be put of indefinitely through good diet and exercise. Naturally based antioxidants like Resveratrol and Acai Berry now being made available  can slow or even, to a degree, reverse the process of aging, according to tests.

Hypertension due to genetics can’t be ‘cured’ but it can be countered. Having a genetic propensity towards high blood pressure doesn’t mean you are doomed. It simply means  that you have to work  harder at maintaining a healthy blood pressure.

What were the causes of my dangerously high blood pressure? All five of them!

But thanks to following guides to reducing blood pressure naturally I now enjoy healthy blood pressure and a brighter future.

And if I can do it anyone can!

High hopes for a quick-fix

When I was first diagnosed with high blood pressure (160/110) I realized I had to make some changes. I had read somewhere that garlic was helpful to lower blood pressure and too much salt raised it.  So I reduced my salt consumption and ate garlic everyday hoping that would fix it.

It didn’t. My blood pressure remained high and later on went up to 190+.

You see, we all want a simple, quick fix to our problems. But the fact is that when it comes to high blood pressure it’s not quite so straightforward.

Here are your options …

Lower blood pressure with diet.

For example, I was asked the other day,  “Does cayenne pepper reduce blood pressure?”  Yes, cayenne has been shown to be beneficial to your heart and circulatory system. And yes, cayenne can help reduce your blood pressure. But no, simply taking a dose of cayenne everyday probably isn’t going to be the answer to your blood pressure problems.

The same could be said for other beneficial foods and  such as garlic, celery, oatmeal, bananas, apples, tomatoes, onions, dark chocolate, you-name-it. All these foods can assist in reducing your blood pressure and getting your body back in balance. But they can’t do it by themselves.

Mind you,  I’m talking about seriously high blood pressure here. Sure, any one of these foods eaten daily might help reduce your blood pressure a few points. But is that going to be much consolation to someone banging in at 175+ systolic?

Medications – quick, but no fix

If you think prescription medication is the simple fix for high blood pressure, think again. The pharmaceutical industry has yet to produce a drug that cures high blood pressure.

Sure, there are pills that can lower your blood pressure – if you continue to take them day after day. But it’s not a real cure because your blood pressure will shoot back up if you stop taking them regularly. Add to that all the unpleasant side effects many of us suffer from taking these drugs and you can see why alternative methods of  lowering your blood pressure naturally are better.

Additionally, when you consider the statistic that more people die of heart disease while on anti-hypertension medications than those who aren’t on them, you realise that these medications don’t offer the protection that we might have hoped for.

How to lower blood pressure naturally

If you have high blood pressure and want to lower it without medications (or make a gradual shift from medications to natural cures), here’s the skinny: you have to move to a healthier diet and compliment it with exercises.

Simply reducing salt consumption and eating a clove of garlic a day won’t cut it.

But don’t despair.  Reducing your blood pressure naturally isn’t rocket science. Anyone can do it.

And no, you’re not going to have to give up everything pleasurable in life and live like a monk.

The truth is, once you start shifting to a healthy blood pressure lifestyle you’ll find yourself enjoying life more, not less. Remember, good health is the underpinning of real  happiness and pleasure.

In a nutshell, you can lower your blood pressure naturally by:

• lowering your stress levels through meditation, Yoga, etc. (I prefer to use slow breathing exercises).
• get your heart beating and blood flowing through physical exercise such as walking, jogging, sking, etc. (I climb the hill behind my house regularly).
• eat less “bad” foods such as table salt, trans-fats, etc.
• eat more “good” foods such as vegetables, olive oil, fruit, etc.

That’s basically it. Using these techniques I have managed to lower my dangerously high blood pressure of 195 over 120 range in March (2009) to  125 over 85 range in the course of 4 to 5 months.

Help is at hand

I got guidance from  Kevin Riley’s excellent 12 week program for lowering high blood pressure. It comes in a thoroughly enjoyable book called  Get Natural!. Combined with doing the  BreathEasy slow breathing exercises my blood pressure began to drop week by week.

If you want to lower your blood pressure quickly and naturally you can get both these programs through this link – www.highbloodpressurehq.com (Last time I checked Get Natural! was offered as a free bonus with the BreathEasy audio program).

Ypu can try out out some BreathEasy audio samples if you’re skeptical like I was.

But I got to say, using these two programs  worked wonders for me. I feel better – physically and mentally. No more high blood pressure worries.

BreathEasy is the closest thing to a “quick fix” for high blood pressure you’re going to get. You blood pressure will drop even after doing a 15 minute slow breathing exercise.

Of course for a permanent cure to high blood pressure time and commitment is needed – along with a more comprehensive lifestyle change. But for the here and now, you cant any better than BreathEasy exercises.

Here’s to your future good health!

Take care,

Simon Foster

By the way, if taking 15 minutes a day to do a slow breathing exercise isn’t ‘your thing’ you can download Kevin Riley’s Get Natural! direct from his website through this link:  www.naturalbloodpressure.com

Oatmeal makes a comeback

Oatmeal used to be a standard breakfast dish back in the ‘good ol’ days’ but has now been largely replaced by sugary cereals. From a health perspective this has been a big mistake. A bowl of oatmeal every morning is a great way to start the day. And it especially helpful in restoring balance to your cardio-vascular system and lowering your blood pressure.

Of course the are other ways to eat oatmeal than in porridge. You can add oats to your cooking – bread, meatloaf, deserts – use your imagination.

Mind you, oats never had a reputation of fine dining.

In 1755 Samuel Johnson described oats as “A grain which, in England, is generally given to horses, but which in Scotland supports the people”.

The Scot’s reply? “That’s why England has such good horses and Scotland has such fine men!”

Get Natural!  by Kevin Riley

Oatmeal gets FDA approval

In 1996 oatmeal was the first food that was granted by the FDA the right to make a specific health claim. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the health claim “Diets low in saturated fats and cholesterol that provide 3g or more per day in soluble fiber from oat bran, oatmeal, or whole oat flour may reduce the risk of heart disease.”

Overall, this wonder food reduces cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, and reduces the risk of heart problems. Study after study has shown this to be true.

How oatmeal works to lower blood pressure

There are a number of things in oats that contribute to your cardio-vascular health but it is thought that the water soluble fiber beta-gluten provides the most benefits. This gel slows down rates of digestion of other foods and helps keep your blood sugars down as well as keeping your insulin levels normal – resulting in lower blood pressure.

Oats also lowers cholesterol. In one test called The smart Heart Challenge hundreds of people ate one bowl of oatmeal a day and after a month. Afterwards 70% of the volunteers had lower cholesterol levels. The Journal of American Medical Association reported that the fiber beta-gluten found in oats is as effective in reducing cholesterol as statin drug treatment.

Eat oatmeal every day!

Need I say more? Give your cardio-vascular system a present, every morning, with a bowl of oatmeal. Here’s how i make it: One cup of water, one handful of oats, one big dollup of honey into a pot. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Add a chopped up banana and enjoy. There is no better way than to start your day.

Lowering your blood pressure naturally without the use of (or in addition to) prescription medications is fifty percent diet and fifty percent exercise.

Start lowering your blood pressure today

The good news is that there’s a way to lower your blood pressure naturally without taking medications and putting up with side effects.

But the catch is that it doesn’t come as a magic pill and takes some time and practice. It also requires a change in diet and lifestyle.

If you need to lower your blood pressure, and want to accomplish it without taking medications, I can give no better recommendation than Kevin Riley’s 12 week program  Get Natural! Following this program I managed to lower my blood pressure from 190+/120+ to 125/85 in less than 12 weeks.

Get Natural! is both easy to follow, fun to read, and it works.

Get Natural! comes as a free bonus as part of the BreathEasy slow breathing exercise program.

I would personally endorse the BreathEasy program too. I do a 15 minute slow breathing exercise most nights before bed. It’s very relaxing and even in the span of 15 minutes by blood pressure will drop 10 points or more.

You can check out some free samples of  BreathEasy audio tracks at this link:  www.highbloodpressurehq.com

These two programs have worked wonders for me.

Acupuncture is an ancient and respected form of treatment of a variety of aliments. Practiced for thousands of years in the east is still a controversial but accepted form of treatment here in the West.

A poll of American doctors in 2005 showed that 59% believe acupuncture was at least somewhat effective. As of 2004, nearly 50% of Americans who were enrolled in employer health insurance plans were covered for acupuncture treatments. – wikipedia

Acupuncture involves the insertion of needles into specific nervepoints below the skin. Acupressure works on the same principles as acupuncture except pressure is applied through massage with fingers rather than the insertion of needles.

Below is a list of the main acupuncture / acupressure points believed to “improve your blood pressure” as cited on  www.damazen.com the website of a Dharma-Zen Tai Chi studio in Calgary Alberta.

Yongquan

Located on the mid-line of the sole of the foot, 2/3 of the way forward from the back of the heel. First warm up your hands by rubbing them briskly together. Then use your right hand to rub your left foot. One rub is from heel to toe then back again to the heel. In total rub your foot thirty six times, then switch. After rubbing both your feet, use a thumb to press your foot’s Yongquan point. With medium force and speed, rub in a tiny circle thirty six times. Then stimulate your other foot’s Yngquan point in the same manner.

Baihui

A‘cross-road’ point on the vertex, belonging to the Du Mai channel. It is located at the top of the head, in line with the ears. Hold 5 fingers of each hand into a point, tap at Baihui lightly, alternating hands (left, right, left, right) for three minutes. Once in the morning and again at night.

Fengchi

These points (left & right) are found at the base of your skull where it meets with your spine. They’re commonly used for treatment of the common cold, the flu, headaches, neck pain, regulating blood pressure and blood circulation. Lace your fingers together, thumbs pointing up. Swing your hands to the back of your head so your thumbs rest just below your skull in the little hollows beside the central muscles along your spine. With medium force and speed, rub in tiny circles thirty six times

Well there you have it according to Dharma-Zen Tai Chi. I’ve never used acupuncture myself although I have massaged the Fendchi points cited above to ward off headaches – with good results. There is certainly more to manipulating the nervous system than meets the eye.

Has anyone used acupuncture or acupressure to help regulate their blood pressure? Has it worked? Share the wealth.

I can state that certain diets and exercises can lower blood pressure back to healthy levels without the need of medications. I’m living proof of that fact. For more information on what works see my Alternative Cures Reviews.

Is there a relationship between blood pressure and sex?

According to the authors of ‘Low Pressure Sex‘ there is. They make the connection from two different perspectives. They claim you can

“… radically increase your sex drive and sexual performance … by lowering your blood pressure”

Authors Frank Mangano and Jon Benson go on to argue that a side effect of many blood pressure drugs is to dampen your sex drive.They also argue that high blood pressure itself can be a block to sexual ardor.

In short, their program is designed to get you off blood pressure medications, lower your blood pressure, and heighten your libido.

Sounds good … or is it just hype wrapped around the old standard “sex sells”? Well there does seem to be a connection between sex and blood pressure – at least for men.

Viagra, the infamous pill to increase erectile strength and duration was first designed as a drug to lower blood pressure. It was only after test subjects began to report erections as a side effect that it was re-branded and marketed as a sexual stimulant.

The bottom line is that to achieve an erection you must have adequate blood flow to the penis. High blood pressure, it is argued, impedes blood flow and makes erections harder to achieve if not impossible. That’s the bottom line as I understand it.

In Low Pressure Sex Mangano and Benson go further and claim that high blood pressure can destroy sexual urges in women too – although it’s not clear on what that premise is based.

I’ve only recently come across this program so can’t endorse or dismiss it from personal experience but does lowering your blood pressure result in better sex? I’d have to say yes, my sex life is better since lowering my blood pressure through natural means. Not that I went from a complete flop to a rock hard sex machine. I didn’t get any younger. But perhaps an increase in stamina and pleasure.

Mind you, in Mangano’s program Low Pressure Sex program includes two books and an audio tape:

• Low Pressure Sex
• Revolutionary Sex
• Natural “Blue Pill” audio

By the way, my girlfriend thinks I should get get this program and ‘try it out’. But I can’t help thinking there’s an element of self-interest in her suggestion.

If you have used Mangano’s Low Pressure Sex please leave a thumbs up or down review in the comment section. There’s nothing better than hearing from a person who’s ‘been there, done that’.

What are high blood pressure causes? As they say, that’s the 64 thousand dollar question.  According to medical science, the causes of the vast majority of high blood pressure cases remains ‘unknown’.

That doesn’t mean that they don’t have a clue. Not at all. it just means they can’t prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was this of that that causes a person to develop high blood pressure. Indeed, the causes of high blood pressure is neither that simple nor evident. (It’s a lot more than simply eating too much salt )

But anyway you look at it is always comes back to this: genetics. The indisputable fact is that some people have high blood pressure ‘in the family’, other don’t. (I firmly belong to the former group).

Here’s an example from my life, today:

My girlfriend is a heavy smoker (although she’d probably deny that ), she gets easily stressed; can be very high strung at times; her diet is far from exemplary from a healthy blood pressure perspective. In short, her lifestyle has all the ingredients of a high blood pressure victim.

But the fact is, her blood pressure is usually too low and she can even suffer from dizzy spells sometimes as it can dip below 90/60. High blood pressure simply isn’t in her genes and there is probably nothing she could do to get it.

Me, on the other hand, non-smoking, OK diet, and comparatively relaxed and calm disposition was banging in at 195/120 last winter (before I got it down through natural methods of diet and exercise i discuss in this blog.)

So what gives? The fact is, my girlfriend’s family doesn’t have a history of blood pressure whereas mine does. I am genetically predisposed to develop high blood pressure whereas she is not. It doesn’t seem fair but that’s just the way it is.

Mind you, I am not saying that if you are genetically predisposed to get high blood pressure there is nothing you can do about it. I’m living proof that you can lower your blood pressure regardless, without even going on medications. Being genetically predisposed towards hypertension means you have to exercise greater diligence and expend further effort to ensure your blood pressure levels remain within a healthy range.

I also don’t mean to imply that genetics is the only cause of high blood pressure. If you are a chain-smoker, live on the couch, and are obese through a diet of processed foods and heavy salt consumption then it is highly likely that you have high blood pressure and the causes of your high blood pressure are due to your lifestyle.

Yes, a poor lifestyle can lead to hypertension and a healthy lifestyle can lead to lowering blood pressure levels.

Genetics plays its role in determining how hard you have to work at maintaining a healthy blood pressure level. I have to work hard at it. My girlfriend can get away with all sorts of transgressions.

If you’re like me, take heart. You don’t have to suffer high blood pressure or the depressing side effects of many blood pressure medications. I’m living proof that a change in diet and exercise can bring your body back in balance, regardless of the causes of high blood pressure.

P.S. In case your wondering exactly how I’ve done it I must give most of the credit to Kevin Riley’s 12 week program called Get Natural!. following the Get Natural! program and taking 15 minutes off a day to do slow breathing exercises with the BreathEasy audio tapes is pretty much all that I need to get a dangerously high blood pressure of 190+ / 120+ back down to the 120-130 / 80-90 range. Tidy! (as we say here in Wales). You can check out and get both programs from this website: www.highbloodpressurehq.com

P.P.S. Being in the ‘high blood pressure circuit’ with this blog I’ve been getting solicitations from vendors of a device called RESPeRATE. (Why all the capitalized letter I have no idea – must have been thought up by some marketing bigwig.)

Has anyone tried them?

They seem to be based on the same slow breathing exercise principle as BreathEasy (see link above) but with more of a technical approach. And not cheap!

Here’s some of sales info from UK pharmacy websites:

From Boots -

How does Resperate help to lower blood pressure?

Resperate guides your breathing from the typical range of 14 to 19 breaths per minute down to what is called the “therapeutic zone” of just under 10 breaths per minute. This enables the muscles surrounding the small blood vessels in your body to dilate, and relax. Blood flows more freely and pressure lowers.

Resperate should be used for just 15 minutes, 3 to 4 times per week. Within 3 to 4 weeks of use, a significant all-day reduction in blood pressure can be achieved.

Resperate contents:

• Resperate device & breathing sensor
• Headphones
• user manuals
• 4 x AA batteries

Price £199.99 at www.boots.com/en/Resperate_873109/

From ChemistDirect -

How RESPeRATE lowers your blood pressure:

RESPeRATE’s breathing sensor automatically analyzes your individual breathing pattern and creates a personalized melody composed of two distinct inhale and exhale guiding tones.

Simply listen to the melody through the headphones, and your body’s natural tendency to follow external rhythms will enable you to easily synchronize your breathing to the tones.

By gradually prolonging the exhalation tone to slow your breathing, RESPeRATE leads you to the therapeutic zone of less than 10 breaths per minute.

Within a few minutes, the muscles surrounding the small blood vessels in your body relax, blood flows more freely, and your blood pressure is significantly reduced.

While your breathing returns to normal after each session with RESPeRATE, the beneficial impact on your blood pressure accumulates. Within 3 to 4 weeks, you’ll see a significant, lasting reduction in your blood pressure.

What results can you expect?

More than 10 clinical trials1-9 have demonstrated the effectiveness of RESPeRATE in significantly lowering blood pressure. RESPeRATE can lower blood pressure by up to 36 points systolic and 20 points diastolic (top 10% reductions), with average reductions of 14/8 points.10

Lower your blood pressure with RESPeRATE. With regular use, you’ll get a significant, lasting reduction in blood pressure.

Price: £159.00 at www.chemistdirect.co.uk/resperate–free-omron-mx2_1_152128

Like I said, not cheap, but if it works I suppose it’s well worth it. After all, what’s the value of your health?

If anyone has tried one of the RESPeRATE devices please let us know in the comments section what you think of it.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my blurb on high blood pressure causes. Let me know what you think. All comments welcome.

Take care,
Simon Foster