Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

"Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)" Issue / Symptom Connections

Below you will find various relationships to, and potential clinical treatment approaches for hypertension (high blood pressure).

Content Related to Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

It is critical to appreciate that in Chinese Medicine, treatment for "hypertension (high blood pressure)" is rarely focused on the symptoms exclusively. Alternatively, a practitioner is looking at the factors that led to the development of "hypertension (high blood pressure)" - i.e. the "cause(s)".

For non-practitioners, we recommend reading treating the "cause" and not the "symptoms" for more on the overall approach and the importance of the TCM diagnostic system in formulating treatment approaches.

Within TCM, "hypertension (high blood pressure)" is potentially related to one or more of the following diagnostic patterns: blood stagnation, kidney yin deficiency, liver fire, liver wind, liver yang rising, and/or liver yin deficiency.

The above patterns are common examples. In clinical situations, however, there are any number of other possibilities. Many times there will be a layered combination of patterns in an interwoven blend with their symptoms - some being the cause of an issue and the result of another issue. While initially complex, this is illustrative of the the web of relationships that Chinese Medicine is designed to approach.

Related Acupuncture Protocols

When developing an acupuncture protocol a practitioner is very often focusing on the causal diagnoses in Chinese Medicine terms, not on the condition itself. To illustrate and guide developing an acupuncture treatment for someone experiencing hypertension (high blood pressure), this issue is referenced in the following acupuncture protocol section:

• View KD 1 (Gushing Spring)
  
      On sole, in depression with foot in plantar flexion, at the junction of the anterior 1/3 and posterior 2/3 of line conn…
  
      Descends excess from above, useful for LV Yang Rising or LV Fire - headaches, tinnitus, hypertension, epilepsy. Cooling KD empty heat - chronic sore throat, dry mouth, low back pain. Tonify KD/HT Yin - insomnia, palpitations, anxiety, po…
• View LI 18 (Protuberance Assistant)
  
      Level with the tip of the Adam's Apple between the sternal and clavicular heads of the SCM.
  
      Window of the Sky Point for sudden loss of voice with qi obstruction in the throat. High blood pressure, for which Window of the Sky Points are sometimes indicated, may also be useful for low blood pressure. Tong Ren/Tam Healing System: …
• View SI 17 (Celestial Countenance)
  
      Posterior to the angle of the mandible in a depression on the anterior border of the SCM.
  
      Both SI 16 & SI 17 are Window of the Sky Points and are useful for throat distention, swelling, goiters, lumps in neck a/or throat. Chest oppression, wheezing, cough, asthma. Ear issues - tinnitus, deafness. Tong Ren/Tam Healing Sys…
• View ST 9 (Man's Prognosis)
  
      Level with the tip of the Adam's Apple on the anterior border of the sternocleidomastoideus muscle (where the pulse of …
  
      In ancient times the ST Qi was assessed by palpating the pulse here and at ST 42. Regulation of Blood Pressure - lowering high blood pressure. Headache, dizziness. Sore throat, counterflow qi (vomiting), coughing, hiccups. Acute lumbar…
• View ST 11 (Qi Abode)
  
      At the superior border of the clavicle between the sternal and clavicular heads of the sternocleidomastoideus muscle.
  
      Local point - sore/swollen throat - counterflow qi, cough, hiccups, reflux. Neck pain - pain, inability to turn neck. Tong Ren/Tam Healing System: Main point to open the circulation of the common carotid artery.  Useful for conditions su…