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Keeping blood pressure under control is a basic step in preventing cardiovascular complications. But the pros and cons of the best ways to lower blood pressure remain controversial. Are certain medications preferable? What about natural approaches to getting blood pressure down? The answer may depend to some extent on the individual.
Trouble with Medicines That Lower Blood Pressure:
Q. My husband has taken just about every kind of blood pressure medicine there is. The ACE inhibitor caused a horrible cough. The alpha blocker took away his energy and made him depressed. The calcium antagonist made his legs swell up.
While taking an ARB and a beta blocker, he collapsed on the way to the bathroom. It took months for him to recover. After that he changed his diet, lost 60 pounds and without the medicine he can walk three miles a day. That has brought his blood pressure down, but he still cannot get it to where his doctor wants it. What else can we do?
Natural Approaches to Lower Blood Pressure:
A. If medications interfere with your husband’s ability to exercise, they would be counterproductive. Exercise and weight loss are key to controlling blood pressure. He should be congratulated on making those part of his regimen.
Flavanols for Flexible Blood Vessels:
Other non-drug approaches include getting plenty of flavanol-rich foods such as beets, blueberries or dark chocolate in the diet. They all make blood vessels more flexible. Getting minerals such as potassium and magnesium from these and other vegetables and fruits in the diet can also make a measurable difference (British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, online Feb. 6, 2016).
You’ll find more details on the DASH diet (full of fruits and vegetables), slow breathing and other natural ways to lower blood pressure in the Guide to Blood Pressure Treatment we are sending you. Meditation allows a person to focus on deep breathing without overdoing it. This too can be helpful in reducing blood pressure (Journal of the American Society of Hypertension, Jan., 2015). We hope that adding these to your husband’s daily routine will help him achieve lower blood pressure without the side effects that medications can cause.
Suellen
Iowa
I am 67 and have had double bi-pass when I was 50. I haven’t been able to take any blood pressure medication. Most will make my muscles so sore I can barely use my hands or feet. Some will give me back pain so severe I can do nothing without pain. I just called my Dr. again and ask for something new and she said to go back to my regular physician. She is the 2nd heart Dr. that has given up on me, and my regular Dr. gave up on me a long time ago. I don’t have a clue what to do next. Any ideas?
ML
Cary, NC
I read a previous article in your column about a reader’s suggestion to take cayenne to lower blood pressure naturally. I have been taking Herb Pharm’s liquid cayenne (it works faster than the powdered form) for a couple of weeks now and it is working. Typically, my BP was around 150, but since taking liquid cayenne, it has lowered to between 120 to 130 daily. Try it – it really works !!
Arlene.
Hi my blood pressure is going up , my doctor put me on losartan possaium pills which makes me terrible constipated. I have only been on them for two weeks, I haven’t seen a change, reading fluctuate .
rick
Your body adjusts your BP in order to have oxygenated blood circulate through the periphery if you have occluded arteries like most people over the age of 55 have higher than normal blood pressure is probably keeping you alive. Many people who have insanely low BP are suffering from adrenal fatigue and or from hypothyroidism. Not being able to produce the stress hormone cortisol is a bad thing not a good thing when you are dealing with fight or flight responses that can be triggered by medications!
Cherry
Barbara, has your doctor ever sent you to get an ultrasound for your kidneys? If not I recommend you get oneo. Google kidney ultrasound high blood pressure for more info.
Roger S
Saginaw, Mi
In three weeks I managed to lower my blood pressure 10 with olive leaf extract. The article I read about olive leaf extract said that it worked as well as a prescription drug with NO side effects. I also use beet powder and exercise. My blood pressure went from 156/96 to 120/76. Not one single prescription drug.
Lucy
MARYLAND
J have found that taurine, an amino acid, is very effective in contoling blood pressure.
Bella Lucia
Margot
Hawaii
Every morning I take a drink of Cayenne tincture, hot water and juice from a fresh lemon. My blood pressure has dropped 40 points naturally. I don’t think the lemon juice helps but added in with the cayenne it creates a nice morning drink.
ladyliza
Los Angeles
I take an extract of cayenne by Dr Christopher. It is a liquid and I put a few drops in a small glass of water just before my doctor appointments and by the time I get to the appointment, my bp has gone from 133/92 to 115/70. I will try what another person wrote above with the Hawthorn extract. That would be easier to manage long term. If I could take off another 20 pounds I think all my problems would go away on their own.
Lindmuth
Houston, TX
My husband took blood pressure meds for years and finally couldn’t stand the pain in his knees anymore and other side effects. He went to my acupuncture doctor who send him to the school for acupuncture and Oriental medicine (which he founded and his son now runs) and they brought his BP down to normal levels. It took about 4 months going regularly and drinking some herbal tea. But he never had a problem again. Both my husband and I believe in acupuncture and I am currently under care for my depression. And it is helping me tremendously.
Lee
Dallas, TX
I started taking Ningxia Red from Young Living about two months ago and it is stabilizing my blood pressure.
Claire
Los angelos
Did you go daily, or how many times a week for both issues to acupuncture?
Cathie
I take 2 Hawthorn berry capsules a day to control my blood pressure. I’ve been on them for over 15 years, started when I was 55 and my blood pressure started going up a little bit. They Hawthorn berry has kept in in the normal range.
Mat Ratra
fl
I used to take Hydrothaizide HCL then switched Diovan. Gradually I started to eat sugar beet piece with meal & breakfast with blue berries with oat meal. My BP is normal & I do watch my diet. Walk & do yoga.
Barbara
I would like to find natural ways to lower blood pressure. Mine spikes to 188/110. I am on the Dash Diet, minus the grains, and my blood pressure keeps going up. I am not overweight. I don’t eat commercially raised meat of chicken. I need to have thyroid surgery and twice I have had my surgery canceled because of high blood pressure. I take 360 mg. Valsartan recently increased from 180 mg. but it has stopped working, and the cardiologist is adding 120 mg. diltiazem and my internist doesn’t think I should take diltiazem. I drink hibiscus tea, tea from leaves from my parsley hawthorn tree, and meditation. Nothing seems to work. At age 76, perhaps I am just at the end of the road. Has anyone tried biofeedback, such as RESPErATE? It is sold online, but is not available last time I checked. It is apparently made in Israel and difficult to find. It costs $300 for the ear phones and CDs. There must be successful treatments for high blood pressure! Has anyone found such treatments??
Laura
I don’t know why you are facing thyroid surgery, but the thyroid needs to be working correctly for our blood pressures to be right. I belong to a Facebook group called Natural Thyroid Treatment that you might find helpful. It is a private group, and you must join, but no one outside that group can see anything posted there. There are some very knowledgeable people in the group.
Frank
Greenville, SC
Hi, Barbara. I’m 69 this year. My blood pressure just seems to do what it wants. I have a rather nice, easy to use Omron meter (that’s not an advertisement but I would recommend them). I had heart surgery in 2012, so I’ve been watching my blood pressure. I’m constantly surprised at the readings, and when I get them. Sometimes it’s low (110s) and sometimes high (150s). I’ve stopped worrying about it because I just couldn’t recognize a consistent pattern. Sometimes my doctor or hospital visit reading is high, sometimes not. Sometimes it’s high in the morning sometimes it’s not. I think, now, that it’s a question of how you feel: do you sleep okay; do you have a good appetite; are you reasonably active? Worry less, enjoy more.
psst: I’m also a diabetic, and I feel the same way about my blood sugar readings. My reading is satisfactory (to me) in the morning. It’s going to be high for the rest of the day. And my A1C is usually around 6-and-a-half, which I’ll settle for.
Debra
Are you walking for exercise? Have you joined the Y? They offer water exercises in addition to other programs for seniors.
Also, you could try beet root powder in capsules (I get mine at Vitamin Shoppe) and Resveratrol, a grape extract. I also drink hibiscus tea with a bit of pomegranate juice, delicious!
Good luck.