Other medications Other Chemical-free household products therzpies to treat hypertension include: Previous image Therwpies Slideshow Stop Slideshow Next image. Snd Q10 The supplement coenzyme Alternatve Co-Q10 is Thrapies involved in the contraction of Enhance cognitive performance strategies muscle, Hypertension and alternative therapies the efficiency of contraction. Staying at a healthy weight is one of the best things you can do to prevent hypertension. This theme was noted in our FGD sessions in which participants stated that the reduced or nonexistent side effects of CAM were preferred over side effects from prescription medicines. The extract from Hawthorn, a type of tree, is also used, but provides only a slight reduction in blood pressure.

Hypertension and alternative therapies -

Beyond this, a lot of what we know about the potential benefits of herbs and supplements for managing the underlying causes of hypertension is based on lab tests, animal studies, or small human trials, Kalnins says.

That's why you should research supplements and talk with your regular doctor about potential interactions and side effects before using an alternative treatment for hypertension. Health Conditions A-Z. Best Oils for Skin Complementary Approaches Emotional Wellness Fitness and Exercise Healthy Skin Online Therapy Reiki Healing Resilience Sleep Sexual Health Self Care Yoga Poses See All.

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Alternative Medicine for Blood Pressure The following herbs and supplements may be beneficial for addressing some of the underlying causes of high blood pressure : Hawthorn This northern European plant has been used as a heart-disease remedy for centuries.

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Search Menu. Search Search. Therefore, participants did not think to inform their HCP. One participant stated,. I put the medication aside for a while , go on the herb , and then back to the medication. On the other hand, the depth of the HCP-patient relationship was also an indicator of whether a respondent felt comfortable with disclosing information about herb use.

There were several physicians working at the clinics that were not originally from Jamaica, which influenced the communication a patient received about herb use. My doctor is a Nigerian that supports both herbs and medication. I would love my Nigerian doctor to give me the herbs because I know he has an herb book and he knows which ones are best so I can get a list.

Most of our participants perceived CAM to be more effective than prescription medications due to the known possible side effects of prescription medication. They also believed that some prescription medication alleviated the chronic disease but caused other complications.

Yes , I believe the herb is coming from the spiritual background the medication the doctor gives is not as effective. I discovered that even the medication slows down your sex organ and the herb uplifts it. James, Male. One participant conveyed that although she was in favor of CAM, her prescription medication was equally as effective and provided her with rapid results.

When the group was asked if they still take their prescription medication as prescribed when using herbal medications, one participant answered:.

I live on my medication but I just take it herb for tea so I still take my [prescription] medication. When participants were asked about how they were informed of CAM, most responded that their family and community elders influenced them and that they grew up witnessing people in their communities sharing CAM methods to treat a wide variety of illnesses.

Also, many expressed listening to radio doctors explain CAM methods for certain conditions. I learned a lot from my grandmother even when I had my children , she told me what type of herbs to give them. I heard from my parents my mother and father they said that the garlic is good for pressure.

I hear plenty people talk about the garlic plus a doctor I hear over the radio talks about garlic and says it is good.

Within each FGD session, participants expressed that religion played a role in their comfort with using CAM for chronic diseases and other illnesses. For instance, two participants responded:. God put herbs on the earth to heal people , but they are not using it because when I take the pill they give me a lot of side effects.

Herbal comes from my religion the Seventh-day Adventist , the prophetess , Ellen , tells us that herbs are good for the body— Participant 23, Hanover, Male.

Results from the quantitative and qualitative analysis mirror each other. Responses from our focus groups provided a better understanding of the societal beliefs that individuals have acquired and shed light on why some individuals prefer CAM methods, particularly herbal remedies, to prescription medication.

The survey revealed that a majority of our participants chose to use CAM because prescription medications had side effects that included headaches, decreased energy, and stomachaches. This theme was noted in our FGD sessions in which participants stated that the reduced or nonexistent side effects of CAM were preferred over side effects from prescription medicines.

Participants also believed that since prescription medications were made from herbs they were the purest form of medication and best for the body. The majority of participants stated that they do not use herbal and prescription medicines together fearing that combined use will decrease their blood pressure or blood glucose to dangerous levels.

Several randomized control trials have been conducted with different herbs and orthodox medications among both diabetic and hypertensive patients. No serious adverse events were reported from the use of garlic and prescription medicines in these studies.

Garlic was also found to significantly reduce the level of fasting blood glucose in T2DM patients in several randomized control trials of patients treated with garlic and anti-diabetic drugs compared to control groups [ 18 — 21 ].

In these studies, significant improvements in total blood cholesterol, high density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein were also obtained after garlic administration. Heartburn was reported by some patients but was not significantly different between the treated and control groups.

In a clinical trial with ginger, one gram of ginger was shown to work synergistically with Nifedipine 10 mg daily in inhibiting platelet aggregation in hypertensive patients.

This shows that addition of ginger to hypertensive medicine was beneficial for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complication due to platelet aggregation [ 22 ]. No adverse effect of ginger was reported. However, studies of other herbs indicate that concomitant use with prescription medications may cause adverse reactions.

Several studies reviewed by Izzo et al. Consistent with other studies, our study participants also believed it is important to communicate their use of CAM with their HCPs, although they chose not to disclose CAM use due to fear of disapproval [ 8 ].

A study reported that HCPs do not have adequate knowledge of CAM use, and thus are not able to give medical advice to patients who use CAM [ 28 ]. Moreover, literature also suggests that HCPs want to understand the use of CAM and the case-based research behind its use [ 29 ].

Therefore, changes to the curriculum for medical, nursing, dietetic and pharmacy students, residents, and fellows to include CAM methods may facilitate increased knowledge of the beneficial and harmful effects of CAM. A finding of interest was that nationality and cultural background of HCPs may influence how information on CAM methods is translated to the public.

A participant discussed her interactions with a HCP of African nationality who she is convinced has good knowledge of herbs. Studies conducted in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica found a higher level of acceptance of CAM use among Trinidadian HCPs in comparison to those from Jamaica; however, HCPs in both countries seemed to lack proper knowledge about herb-drug use interactions that could be contributing to the lack of communication with patients [ 8 ].

Previous research suggests that there should be increased efforts aimed to increase information on the possible harmful effects of concurrent herb use with prescription drugs [ 6 ].

Religion was an important factor in influencing herbal use in this study. Therefore, clergy members could be used in conjunction with HCPs to relay pertinent information regarding CAM use.

Recent studies show that clergy members are key components in health promotion [ 30 ]. This study has limitations that should be considered in interpreting the results.

First, the convenience sampling method used is prone to inherent bias in representation. Some patients declined to participate in the study due to lack of trust in providing personal health information to the research staff; they feared that the personal information provided could be used against them.

Secondly, the study sample represents only patients who attended the chronic disease clinics in the WRHA that were included in the study, therefore, the results may not be generalizable to patients attending other clinics under the WRHA or in other regions of Jamaica that were not sampled.

Additionally, the data were self-reported and as a result might be subject to social desirability bias. This study shows that CAM methods such as use of herbs, prayer, diet, and exercise to treat chronic diseases are a part of daily life for many Jamaicans.

The findings from the survey and the themes from the FGD sessions provided new information and useful insights into the perceptions of participants regarding their inclination to use CAM.

They did not discuss CAM use with their HCPs since they felt that most HCPs did not endorse the use of CAM. These findings highlight the importance of HCP-initiated conversations about patient use of CAM.

Many participants are aware that there could be adverse reactions to the concurrent use of prescription and herbal treatments and developed their own algorithms of use which could be harmful.

Thorough explanations of the effects of simultaneous or intermittent use of prescription and herbal treatments from knowledgeable HCPs is essential. Thus, the findings from this study indicate the need to include salient information on CAM in the professional curricula of HCPs and can be used in developing appropriate interventions to ensure the proper use of prescription medicines and CAM.

This should result in improved management of T2DM and HTN among patients. Browse Subject Areas? Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field.

Article Authors Metrics Comments Media Coverage Peer Review Reader Comments Figures. Abstract Background The simultaneous or intermittent use of alternative treatments and prescription medications for hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus can have adverse health effects.

Objectives To identify beliefs and practices associated with the use of alternative treatments for hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus among patients. Conclusions This study provides useful insights into perceptions and use of alternative treatments by patients that can be used by healthcare providers in developing appropriate interventions to encourage proper use of prescription medicines and alternative medicines resulting in improved management of these chronic diseases.

Introduction The World Health Organization WHO reports that Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus T2DM and Hypertension HTN are two of the top ten causes of death among the Jamaican population [ 1 ]. Development of survey, focus group discussion guide and data collection. Ethical approval The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and by the Western Regional Health Authority; protocol approval IRB Data analysis Quantitative data.

Qualitative data. Results Quantitative results Demographic characteristics of survey participants. Download: PPT. Table 1. Demographic characteristics of survey participants by disease group.

Practices and beliefs regarding prescription medication use for T2DM and HTN Table 2. Table 2. Practices regarding prescription medication usage by survey participants. Table 3. Total number of participants who selected each herb and total numbers stratified by disease group. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding CAM use by disease group Table 4.

Table 4. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding CAM use by disease group. Table 5. Perceptions and beliefs regarding use of alternative and prescription treatments by disease group. Qualitative results Four common themes emerged during FGD sessions Table 6 , which revealed the views and beliefs of participants regarding CAM and prescription medication use for chronic disease management.

Theme 1: Simultaneous use of herbal and prescription medicine was perceived to be harmful. Theme 2: Patients did not divulge their use of herbal medicine to healthcare providers.

Theme 3: Alternative medicines were perceived to be highly effective. James, Male One participant conveyed that although she was in favor of CAM, her prescription medication was equally as effective and provided her with rapid results.

When the group was asked if they still take their prescription medication as prescribed when using herbal medications, one participant answered: I live on my medication but I just take it herb for tea so I still take my [prescription] medication.

Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, therwpies, and award-winning blogger on stress management, Hyperetnsion psychology, Chemical-free household products, and emotional wellbeing. Steven Gans, Anti-inflammatory remedies for hormonal balance is board-certified in psychiatry and is an thdrapies supervisor, threapies, and mentor at Massachusetts Thyroid Supportive Care Hospital. Stress and Thyroid Supportive Care factors can lead to high blood pressurea potentially dangerous health condition. While there are several ways to lower blood pressure, one effective and natural strategy is to use stress relievers that have also been shown to reduce high blood pressure. These stress relievers tend to steer clear of negative side effects and carry with them other health benefits. Learn more about healthy and natural treatments for high blood pressure that also relieve stress and promote overall health at the same time. A treatment plan involving alternative Chemical-free household products may be ttherapies for some therapiws with high blood pressure. Chemical-free household products about the herbs and supplements therzpies could Weight management diet beneficial. One in five Hyperyension in the United States Chemical-free household products year are caused by cardiovascular disease, making it the leading cause of death. Hypertensionwhich affects roughly half of U. adults, plays an important role in cardiovascular disease by increasing the risk of life-threatening events like heart attacks and strokes. While doctors write more and more prescriptions to treat the rising number of patients with high blood pressure, some people are also seeking alternative medicine to help manage this condition.