Stress, too, plays a role in high blood pressure. One of the difficulties of getting a meaningful blood pressure reading is that blood pressure can change drastically, especially in response to anxiety or mild emotional stress. Hence the white coat syndrome, affecting the person whose blood pressure rises when they're actually having their blood pressure measured by a professional in a white coat. A recent study of hypertensives in Oakland, California, showed that use of daily Transcendental Meditation could produce significant reductions in blood pressure. With regard to treatment of high blood pressure, I generally reserve medications for only the most challenging patients or for those unwilling to go through the complex lifestyle adjustments that may be necessary to overcome their tendency towards high blood pressure.
New medications abound but most cause side effects.
Simply providing hypertensives with a quick drug fix deters them from making necessary healthy adjustments in diet, exercise and stress coping. Foregoing the drug route, at least temporarily, preserves the impetus for constructive change. Thus blood pressure can be looked at as a barometer of degenerative tendencies whose sources we can identify and eliminate. Dr. Hoffman's website contains useful health information. Inc. Built on a Macintosh with Frontier .