Hypertension is defined by the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) as a systolic blood pressure of greater than 140 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure of greater than 90 mmHg recorded while seating more than twice in two different office visits.⁵ Hypertension is a ubiquitous disease affecting all kinds of populations of people. It is estimated to account for 6% of worldwide deaths, and to have a prevalence of 28.7% in U.S. adults, with an increase to 65.4% in individuals aged >60.⁸ Hypertension doubles the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD), congestive heart failure (CHF), ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, renal failure, and peripheral arterial disease. Although traditional medical antihypertensive therapy reduces these risks, large segments of the hypertensive population are either untreated or undertreated.⁸

The goal of this website is to provide an introduction to some of the alternative therapies used for hypertension, and begin to investigate whether there is scientific evidence of their benefit for the treatment of hypertension. The website is divided into Lifestyle Modifications (therapies everyone agrees on), Traditional Medical Therapy, and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).
 

Website created by Alex Garton in March 2009.