High blood pressure can lead to hypertension, which is known to cause a variety of debilitating side effects or symptoms in the life of the patient. It can also lead to a number of related ailments which can affect the various organs of the body. The eyes are one of the organs that are most susceptible to this kind of spike in the body s blood pressure. Let us learn more about the connection between the two.

Retina: When high blood pressure goes untreated for a prolonged period, it can easily start to affect the blood vessels that can be found in the retina. The retina is the third or the inner most layer of the eye which is sensitive towards light and usually helps in refraction. This is where the light reaches so that one can focus clearly on an image. When the blood pressure of the patient stays high for a prolonged basis, there is significant pressure on the blood vessels in this part of the eye which can lead to an eye disease known as hypertensive retinopathy.

Symptoms: Symptoms of this eye disease include lack of clarity and focus when the eye comes to rest on an object, as well as headaches and other vision problems that typically spring from eye strain that one will go through while trying to focus even harder. It may be seen that the symptoms do not appear in the very early stages of this disease.

Diagnosis: The diagnosis of the condition is usually done by an ophthalmologist who will use an ophthalmoscope in order to project light towards the specific part of the eye so that the back of the eyeballs can be examined. The signs that the doctor will look for during the examination include narrowing of the blood vessels in this part of the eye, inflammation of the macula which is the central portion of the retina, and bleeding in the back of the eye. Also, the doctor will check for spots in the retina with the help of cotton swabs and exudates.

Treatment: The best and only way of treating this condition is by keeping one s blood pressure in control with the help of medication prescribed by the doctor.

Prevention: There are many ways of preventing the onset of this disease, including losing weight so that there is less pressure on the body. Also, one must stick to a healthy diet and exercise regularly after taking recommendations on the appropriate exercises from the doctor. Additionally, it is also important to see a doctor on a regular basis so that there is constant monitoring and regulation of the medicines and the blood pressure.

Blood Pressure - How it Affects Your Eye Sight?

5 natural ways to control your blood pressure

Blood pressure rises with each heartbeat and falls as your heart relaxes. The normal blood pressure should be less than 120/80 mm hg. An increase or decrease on either end can cause various problems.

Here are some of the natural ways to control your blood pressure.

1. Having a diet low in sodium

In the event of a high blood pressure, curtail the consumption of foods that are rich in sodium. However, research reveals that sometimes it is not just enough to cut down on sodium in your diet. A person suffering from high bp should consume foods rich in minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium as well to keep his/her bp in check.

2. Drink plenty of water and curtail the consumption of alcohol

In case a person suffers from low blood pressure, it is advisable to drink plenty of water as low blood pressure is usually accompanied by bouts of dehydration, and consumption of water can help increase your blood pressure. Also, health drinks, which are rich in electrolytes, help your raise blood pressure. But one should avoid drinks that are high in sugar, and abating your alcohol consumption also helps to quite an extent.

3. Burn extra calories and exercise regularly

Blood pressure usually increases with weight. Being overweight can lead to sleep apnea, which is marked by disruptive breathing while you sleep, which in turn condition can lead to increased blood pressure. Studies have found that weight loss is one of the most effective ways to control high bp. Regular physical activity is also advised to maintain a stable blood pressure.

4. Avoid long, hot showers

The hot water in showers and spas can expand your blood vessels, which can often lead to a drop in blood pressure. A common sign of this would be dizziness and fainting while taking a bath. Therefore, for people suffering from this condition, using warm water rather than hot water is advisable.

5. Completely avoid stress

One of the contributing factors of high blood pressure is chronic stress. Stress tends to affect blood pressure in indirect ways. Many react to stress by overeating, consumption of alcohol and smoking, all of which can increase your blood pressure. Try to know what triggers your stress and take steps to avoid it.


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Related Tip: Got High Blood Pressure? Eat These 5 Foods!



5 Tricks that Control Your Blood Pressure, Naturally

Hypertension or increased blood pressure is one of the modern lifestyle diseases. The changing lifestyles including altered dietary habits and lack of physical activity are the main reasons for the high incidence of hypertension. With this, it brings a host of complications including other chronic diseases like diabetes, kidney failure, risks of stroke and heart attacks.

Alternative medicine proposes quite a number of remedies in addition to just increased physical activity. Read on to know more about how you can eat healthier and control your blood pressure.

Eat walnuts: As most books and media depict, heart disease is directly related to physical reaction towards stress. Regular eating of walnuts helps control this response, thereby controlling blood pressure. It is also a great source of antioxidants and fibre, which adds to its heart-healthy features.

Load up on minerals: Eating a diet rich in calcium, magnesium, and potassium is extremely beneficial for the heart. Sweet potatoes, bananas, dry fruits, dairy products, etc., have shown to reduce blood pressure extremely well in various experiments.

Avoid salt: While the natural sea salt is almost out of use, most of us have switched to the processed variety, which is devoid of all minerals. This is one of the major contributors for increased blood pressure. Studies have shown that reducing salt intake helps in a big way in controlling blood pressure. Most of us are also used to adding extra salt so the food tastes better. This should be avoided. With increased consumption of processed food items, everything from bread to cookies to cheese has salt, which also should be reduced, and if possible, avoided.

Have a colourful meal: Load up your plate with peppers, berries, dry fruits, and organic fruits and vegetables. Pomegranate juice is believed to control angiotensin, converting enzyme, which is responsible for controlling hypertension. They are also rich in antioxidants and help control blood pressure by reducing inflammation.

Know your cholesterol: While cholesterol is generally used with a negative connotation, it is not always true. There is good and bad cholesterol and the bad one should be avoided. Watch out for labels, and ensure you are eating less of the bad cholesterol. Good cholesterol is required for the production of hormones and proper functioning of the body.

Watch your medicines: While it is easy to just pop an ibuprofen when there is a headache or a back ache, it is advisable to watch out. These are best avoided in the long run, as they can induce hypertension and induce heart disease.

In addition, meditation, relaxation, green tea, dark chocolate, red wine, music, and quitting smoking are also shown to be helpful in controlling blood pressure.

Successful Tips To Control Blood Pressure

As much as we take a dip in the bucket of blues and sing happy- sad songs to float and fall for the theorem of love; we are but orderlies to the emotion. We all wish if love had only been a four letter word. It, unfortunately, has multiple folds and crevices than the human mind can ever possibly think of. Nonetheless, staying in love is essential. Loving is as significant as is living; the reason being, it keeps you happy until you falter and with every faltering foothold, you emerge out as a stronger being.

A strange fact about the emotion is its tryst with wholeness. Love doesn t necessarily need an object or receptor under its radar. It could be experienced as a self - sufficient feeling. You may be full of love for a family, for a dear friend, for your lover or you could also be in love with your passion or yourself. Irrespective of perpetual disillusionment, one must try and remain in love.

Let's take a curious peek into these few ways to stay in love:

Put in efforts to look good: In any case,  beauty indeed lies in the eyes of the beholder , but finding yourself pretty is extremely important. One must take care to look good in his or her own eyes. Looking good is directly proportional to the way you feel and hence spending time on yourself helps you to think positively. You see yourself in a better light and are thus, in a position to love better.
Exercise to challenge your daily threshold: Exercising has multi - faceted effects on your overall health. If you exercise on daily basis, you witness your progress with every passing day. This encourages you to improve your flexibility and fitness. Exercising can lead to the release of the happy hormone - serotonin in one s body. Direct exposure to sunlight and consumption of food items rich in carbohydrates can also increase the level of serotonin. Exercising boosts up your confidence and makes you fall in love with your body.
Indulge in sweet things: As you grow up, you stop doing those little things that once gave you immense pleasure. Making a greetings card, baking a cake, making paper boats, going out on walks, teaching young children or doing whatever your heart feels like can actually make you stay in love.
Pursue your passion: A passion gets the best out of you; it rather steps up the limits of your talents. Pursuing one s passion makes one love oneself even more. It keeps you engrossed in your plus points, giving you little scope to brood over depressing factors.
Try having a pet to care for: Feeling responsible for your pet is a great way to discover another side of your personality. A pet gives you the warmth you had been looking for. The bond of love with a pet has had unmatched effects on a person s health.

5 Ways to Stay in Love

Blood pressure is one of the vital life signs in medicine, which, along with other vitals is widely used to assess the overall health of the patient. High blood pressure is very dangerous as normally it has no symptoms or signs and can fluctuate almost instantly. But, it could be managed. High blood pressure is said to be of higher than 120 (systolic) and 80 (diastolic).

A nap in a day might help in lowering blood pressure. According to certain research findings, people who sleep in the daytime had regular blood pressure as compared to people who do not sleep or do not have a short nap. Napping can effectively help lowering blood pressure. It helps the blood to control stress hormones and also helps the nervous system to keep a person healthy.

Daytime napping surely helps in boosting energy levels and efficiency throughout the day. Blood pressure increases after a nap caused by the body s normal circadian rhythm (for influencing and regulating sleep-wake pattern for a healthy cycle in a day). At the time of the morning, the body releases hormones such as noradrenaline and adrenaline. If the blood pressure increases too high, it could cause harmful effects. Blood pressure is usually lower at night while a person is sleeping. The blood pressure begins to increase a few hours before a person wakes up. The blood pressure continues to increase during the day, normally extreme in the mid of the afternoon. The blood pressure starts dropping again in the evening and late afternoon. Sleep helps the blood to regulate stress hormones.

Napping, since it helps in lowering blood pressure, definitely helps in reducing the risk of Sleeping for about seven to eight hours in the night might play a vital role in the prevention of high blood pressure. New research suggests that an afternoon nap is as productive as consuming a pill for lowering the blood pressure. Scientists have found that the people who take a midday nap are more likely to drop their blood pressure as compared to adults who don t take a midday nap and stay awake. Napping, since it helps in lowering blood pressure, definitely helps in reducing the risk of cardiovascular events like a stroke or a heart attack. It is as effective as other lifestyle changes, according to credible researches in medicine. It is interesting to note that napping, even when it reduces the blood pressure by 2 mm Hg only, reduces the risk of cardiovascular events by 10%.

Napping is a sort of shortcut and an effective method for lowering the blood pressure and could also be easily adopted and does not cost anything. Short midday sleep is important for our well-being. And, we can utilize this simple information very effectively for its potential health-related benefits simply by managing our daily schedule.

Napping & Low Blood Pressure - How Can Former Help Latter?

Hypertension is a condition where the blood has to exert extra pressure to flow through the blood vessels. While there is a genetic component to it, the more strong contributing factors are modified lifestyle and dietary changes. There are also a lot of environmental changes that have contributed to this new epidemic. While earlier people in their 50s and 60s would be diagnosed with hypertension, now there are people in 30s and 40s taking hypertension pills. Excess fat accumulation is the major cause of hypertension in younger patients.

There begins the complexity of the issue. Hypertension which requires medications to control it, they lead to side effects and bring in a host of other diseases like diabetes, and obesity which in turn bring in a whole lot of complications. A more easy way to manage would be to prevent and of course, after onset, look at how naturally it can be managed.

Ayurveda has numerous substances that have been proven to have beneficial effects in controlling blood pressure over the past 1000s of years.

1. Celery or ajwain helps blood vessels to dilate and reduces concentration of stress hormones in the blood.

2. Ashwagandha has a wide range of actions and improves the body's ability to handle physical and mental stress. This in turn improves blood pressure, obesity, and depression.

3. Citrus fruits contain vitamin c which prevents fragility of the capillaries (thinner blood vessels).

4. Cow's urine prevents hardening of blood vessels and is of curative value in those who have blood pressure due to hardening of blood vessels. 

5. Triphala which is a combination of amla, haritaki, and bibhitaki helps reduce inflammation that leads to blood pressure, thereby helping to control it.

6. Jatamansi - by helping the free radical damage on the arteries, it protects the arteries and prevents cholesterol accumulation. It also is a very well-proven stress reliever and has additional benefits on hypertension.

7. Arjuna - by helping the metabolism of the bad cholesterol in the liver, this protects the inner lining of the heart and thereby helps control hypertension.

8. Calcium and potassium containing substances help remove sodium and thereby improve blood pressure.

9. Natural herbs like brahmi, sarpagandha, shankhpushpi, and chandana are effective ayurvedic cure and treatment for hypertension.

10. Rasayana treatment from ayurveda is having excellent results, however everyone requires unique rasayan as per their body types.

11. Watermelon helps in dilation of the blood vessels.

12. Aloe gel, barberry, calamus, valerian, skullcap, gotu kola cayenne, myrrh, motherwort, hawthorn and jatamansi have all been shown to help manage hypertension over thousands of years.

13. A glass of warm milk mixed with saraswat powder is also helpful for patients with high blood pressure.

These are natural remedies which were a part of diet since times immemorial. Including them in the diet, reducing processed foods, regular exercise, avoiding alcohol and smoking can be some natural ways to prevent and if required control hypertension. Stress is here to stay, but can definitely be managed with a little conscious effort.

Control Blood Pressure With Ayurveda

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