Leech Therapy for Controlling High Blood Pressure

The age bracket of individuals suffering from high blood pressure or hypertension is decreasing, which is quite alarming because it implies there are an increased number of younger people more at risk from suffering high blood pressure-related problems.

Taking into account today’s lifestyles, it isn’t surprising that an increasing number of younger individuals are suffering from hypertension. Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a condition where an individual has an elevated blood pressure that exceeds the normal value of 120/80 mmHg.

Understanding High Blood Pressure

There are two kinds of hypertension – primary or essential hypertension and secondary hypertension.

Primary or essential hypertension means that the cause of the increased blood pressure is unknown, although family history can play a major role. If one or both parents suffer from high blood pressure, then you are at an increased risk of having elevated blood pressure.

Secondary hypertension is a condition where there is a known cause for the elevation in an individual’s blood pressure.

In understanding high blood pressure, it’s important to be familiar with systolic and diastolic pressures. Systolic pressure is the pressure that arteries generate when the muscles of the heart contract to pump blood to the arteries. Diastolic pressure on the other hand, is the pressure generated in the arteries as the muscles of the heart relaxes, which is why the diastolic pressure is lower than systolic pressure.

Causes of High Blood Pressure

There are many factors that cause high blood pressure. The most common is the lifestyle of an individual. Someone who eats too many fatty and salty foods, smokes a lot and/or consumes excess alcohol is at high risk of elevated blood pressure. People who are obese and have an inactive lifestyle are also at risk of developing hypertension. Stress, old age and family history are also contributing factors of hypertension. Diseases such as chronic kidney diseases and disorders of the thyroid and adrenal glands can also cause hypertension.

Leech Therapy for Hypertensive Patients

It’s known through various studies that the saliva of leeches contains many beneficial enzymes that can help lower blood pressure.

Anticoagulation enzymes found in leech’s saliva reduce coagulation tendencies of the blood, thus, promoting good blood flow to the body, as well as another enzyme that dissolves blood clots, so not only does it break up the blood clots, but it also prevents clots from traveling to other parts of the body, causing a noticeable reduction in both the systolic and diastolic pressures.

These enzymes prevent blood from becoming thick, thereby promoting better blood circulation not only in the heart but to other parts of the body and can be used with current antihypertensive medications.