Wednesday 7 February 2018

TCM Treatment Protocols for High Blood Pressure

Let's do something different today! Why not look at a short case study, I often give my 1st year students, after teaching TCM diagnosis class.

Male, age: 44yrs old

He was just diagnosed with high blood pressure by his MD. No family history of hypertension.

Temporal headaches (intense, stabbing, pounding), for 2 months (since he started a new demanding and stressful job) it was so intense sometimes he vomited. He also suffers from tinnitus that comes and goes (high pitch). He gets dizzy at the end of the day after being at his computer for 8 hours.He doesn't sleep great either, he wakes up around 3 am almost every night and cannot go back to sleep. He's very irritable and impatient with his wife and kids. 

Pulse: wiry-rapid (left middle position)

Tongue: Red tongue body, sides are purple.


TCM Diagnosis: Lv Yang Rising & Lv Blood Stasis, coming from LV Qi Stagnation.

Symptoms differentiation:

Temporal headaches (LV), intense, stabbing pain (Blood stasis), headaches leading to vomiting (LV over controlling ST).

Stress due to new job creates LV Qi stagnation and leads to LV Yang rising & LV Blood stasis.

Tinnitus comes & goes & high pitch (LV Yang rising).

Dizziness at end of day with headaches (Lv Yang rising).

Wakes up at 3 am (LV time) and can't go back to sleep (Excess in LV).

Irritability & impatience: LV Qi stagnation leading to Lv Yang rising.

Pulse: wiry-rapid (left middle position): LV Yang rising

Tongue: Red tongue body (Heat), sides are purple (LV Blood stasis).

Tx principles: Bring LV Yang down, move blood, calm the mind.

Acupuncture points

LV 2, Gb 38 to bring LV Yang down

Li 4 & Lv 3 to move Qi & Blood & relieve pain

Gb 40, Tai Yang to relieve temporal headaches

Kd 1 & Gb 20 to bring blood pressure down and help dizziness

15 needles twice/week for 5 weeks, made a huge difference. His blood pressure regulated without medication, the headaches & dizziness disappeared, he was less irritable and he slept much better! He became a big fan of acupuncture. He's now been coming for tune ups, the last Friday of every month for 7 years 

Yep! Acupuncture rocks!!!!

High blood pressure is a common disorder in our modern world and TCM is an easy, safe, way to bring it down without side effects!

Definition: High blood pressure is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against the artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause heart disease or stroke. It's often asymptomatic, so it's important to check it on a regular basis, for prevention.

Causes: Various pre-existing conditions, medications, alcohol, drugs, high sodium diet, low potassium diet, being overweight, no exercise, long term stress or genetic can cause high blood pressure.

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