Does acupuncture work for high blood pressure?

Hypertension is a very common cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. The main causes of hypertension symptoms are directly related to aging, physical decline, genetics and other factors. When treating high blood pressure, Western medicine mainly relies on drugs to control blood pressure. Traditional Chinese medicine treats hypertension by specifically targeting the cause of the disease. Many methods of traditional Chinese medicine can treat the symptoms of hypertension. So can acupuncture treat high blood pressure? Now let’s talk about it.

Acupuncture is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine and a relatively special means of treating diseases. Acupuncture can be used to treat many diseases, and of course hypertension is no exception. The principle of acupuncture in treating hypertension is mainly to stimulate the meridian acupoints. The adjacent afferent nerves will cause a antihypertensive response. It can also release certain vasodilator factors in the body to dilate blood vessels, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing peripheral resistance and thus lowering blood pressure.

There are many acupoints on the human body, and the acupuncture points commonly chosen by patients with hypertension are: Hegu, Quchi, Shenshu, Qihai, Guanyuan, Zusanli, Fenglong, Jiexi, Fengchi, Yanglingquan, Guangming, Xiaxi, Sanyinjiao, Taixi, Xingjian, Taichong, Mingmen and blood pressure points. In practical application, acupuncture points should also be selected based on the patient's syndrome differentiation:

1. Hyperactivity of liver fire

Treatment principle: Calm the liver and suppress yang.

Prescription: Mainly use acupoints of the foot Jueyin and Shaoyang meridians, such as Taichong, Fengchi, Guangming, Yanglingquan, Xiaxi, etc.

2. Yin deficiency and Yang hyperactivity

Treatment principle: Nourish Yin and suppress Yang.

Prescription: Mainly use the acupoints of the foot Jueyin, Shaoyang and Shaoyin meridians, such as Shenshu, Taixi, Xingjian, Taichong, Sanyinjiao and other acupoints.

3. Deficiency of Yin and Yang

Treatment principle: Nourish Yin and warm Yang.

Prescription: Mainly use acupoints of the Foot Jueyin Meridian, Foot Yangming Meridian, and Ren and Du Meridian, such as Taichong, Zusanli, Mingmen, Qihai, Guanyuan, etc.

4. Phlegm and turbidity blocking the middle

Treatment principle: eliminate dampness and eliminate phlegm.

Prescription: Mainly use Yangming meridian acupoints, such as Fenglong, Zusanli, Hegu, Quchi, Jiexi and other acupoints.

When using acupuncture therapy on patients with hypertension, the first thing to do is to make sure that the patients believe in this treatment method and are willing to actively cooperate with the acupuncture treatment. Otherwise it will cause many inconveniences during treatment and affect the operation. Patients with hypertension should also pay attention to the following points during treatment:

(1) It is not advisable to insert the needle immediately when the patient is too hungry, tired, or too nervous;

(2) For the elderly and infirm, the stimulation should not be too strong, and the patient should be allowed to lie down as much as possible;

(3) Acupuncture is not suitable for patients with frequent bleeding or continuous bleeding after injury, as well as pregnant women and women during menstruation.

In addition to timely and targeted treatment of the symptoms of hypertension. You should also pay more attention in your daily life and avoid eating greasy, spicy and irritating foods, and avoid eating high-fat and high-protein foods. Don't eat too much salty food. If you consume too much salt, it will not be beneficial for treating high blood pressure.