• The heart can grow larger or become weak. This leads to heart failure, a condition in which your heart lacks the strength to pump enough blood to meet your body's needs.
• Aneurysms. Continual strain on the walls of an artery causes the tissue to weaken and lose tone. This can result in an abnormal bulge in a compromised arterial wall. The bulge may burst, a life threatening condition. Common locations for aneurysms are the aorta, the arteries in the brain, legs, and intestines and the artery leading to the spleen.
• Narrowing of blood vessels in kidneys. This results in kidney failure.
• Heart attack. When a blood clot detaches from a vessel wall and lodges in the heart, thereby cutting off blood flow to the heart muscle itself.
• Stroke. Similar to a heart attack. In a stroke, the blood clot lodges in the brain.
• Amputation of part of the leg. When blood flow is cut off to a part of the body, the tissue dies resulting in amputation. The legs are the most common site for this complication.
• Vision damage or blindness. Blood vessels in the eyes that burst or bleed cause damage to the eyes and even blindness.

Home Remedies for High Blood Pressure

The emotions associated with high blood pressure include frustration, anger, worry, and impatience. Many people who experience high blood pressure are full of passion, opinions, and fire. Internally, these intense emotions wear down the very organ of passion, your heart. Whether boiling internally with unexpressed emotions, or overflowing with them into your life, the heart takes the hit.

If you are full of fire and passion, practice taking a reflective breath before responding to whomever has made you angry and do your best to speak softly. Shift your attenion towards nurturing love, affectionate touch, and tender softness. Live your life slowly, and be kind with yourself. It is not easy to bring calm into an environment that is traditionally difficult for you.

Speak the truth. Not only does lying require a lot of mental energy, it increases blood pressure. Finally, laugh more! Laughter is proven to decrease adrenalin and cortisol production, two hormones that increase heart rate and create a "fight or flight" reaction in your nervous system.

Here are some other lifestyle practices to incorporate into your daily routine for the new healthy-blood-pressure-you!

• Moderate exercise strengthens your heart.
• Slow down. Begin the day with a peaceful, quiet morning to set the tone for a gentle day (that's when stress hormones are highest). Avoid that cup of coffee - which will only increase your anxiety.
• Good posture is essential to the smooth flow of blood. When you stand with poor posture, your blood gets stagnant in contracted parts of your body, causing your heart to work hard. Relax your muscles and stand tall. This elegant, yet strong stance can help you reduce your blood pressure.
• Meditation - A helpful slogan in Alcoholics Anonymous is "living life on life's terms." Meditation, also encouraged by AA, is the best way to learn how to do this. Breathe in, breathe out, and accept life as it is in this moment. Desire nothing to be different, simply reside in the present moment. And feel the pressure subside in your veins, arteries, heart, mind, and spirit.

Kapha type high blood pressure is the easiest type of blood pressure to understand in Western terms. Kapha is associated with congested, thick blood. Thick blood moves through vessels with more difficulty. Sluggish blood means the heart has to pump harder to move it through your body, placing extra burden on your heart. Sometimes, the blood vessels themselves become hard, thick, and inflexible, a condition called atherosclerosis, which also translates to increased blood pressure. High blood sugar, high triglycerides, and high cholesterol are just some of the reasons why kapha blood is thicker than other body types. Blood thinning herbs, removing excess fluids and fats, and tonifying the heart are all very important when dealing with heavy kapha type high blood pressure.

• Diuretic herbs reduces the amount of water in your body and blood vessels. Reducing the volume of water in your blood vessels is essentially equivalent to letting air out of a balloon, which reduces the pressure in the balloon, and in your blood. Diuretics are particularly useful to kapha individuals who suffer from edema and water retention. Reducing water not only lowers blood pressure in these cases, but also improves circulation in general, making you feel lighter and energetic. Examples include dandelion, hawthorne, and punarnava.
• Cardiac Tonic herbs are helpful in all types of blood pressure as they improve tone and function of the heart itself. Examples include hawthorne, arjuna, and punarnava.
• Blood thinners are herbs that reduce total peripheral resistance (TPR). It takes a lot of work to pump the blood through your blood vessels. Thick blood is even harder to push through the vessels. These types of herbs are especially useful for kapha type. Herbs that cleanse the lymphatic system, like CCF tea, inadvertently thin the blood. Examples include guggulu, turmeric, and neem.

• 5 Punarnava - diuretic, heart tonic, reduces kapha
• 3 Hawthorne Berry - cardiac/vascular tonic, natural beta-blocker antioxidant
• 2 Guggulu - Blood thinner, reduces arterial plaque,
• 1 Cardamom - Moves stagnant blood, improves peripheral circulation, cleanses stomach

• Cinnamon - increases circulation and reduces blood sugar which thins the blood
• Cat's Claw - vasodilator, diuretic
• Dandelion - Bitter diuretic
• Celery Seed - diuretic
• Ginger - increases circulation, thins blood, relaxes muscles.
• Cumin, coriander, and fennel tea - Diuretic, detoxicant, cleanses lymphatic system

• Avoid wheat, dairy, red meat, sugar, and other 'blood thickeners'
• Favor bitter green vegetables like kale, chicory, & red leaf lettuce to thin the blood
• Eat a High fiber diet which cleanses the bowels, reduces cholesterol
• Enjoy Garlic, a vasodilator that cleanses your lymphatic system, bowels, and liver.
• Do "Breath of Fire" daily to improve circulation and cardiac function.

• Anti-inflammatory herbs reduce irritation and pressure in the vascular system.
• Vasodilators relax blood vessels. Many of these herbs are helpful for short term high blood pressure. They are most effective for stress (Vata) or emotionally induced (Pitat) blood pressure spikes.
• Cholagogues pull heat, anger, and frustration out of the liver, cooling the blood. Examples include bitter tasting herbs like neem, sour foods like vinegar, and other foods like aloe vera.
• Refrigerants
• Anxiolytic herbs calm down anxious emotions.
• Muscle relaxant allow tight muscles including cardiac musculature to relax, allowing smooth blood flow.
• Alteratives & blood cleansers - Renormalizes blood pressure so you feel less emotional. Examples include manjistha, neem, & red root.

• 5 Bhumi-amalaki - Cholagogue
• 3 Hawthorne berry - cardiac/vascular tonic, natural beta-blocker, antioxidant
• 2 Lemon Balm - excellent for calming emotions. Sweet and soft with a pleasing aroma that takes the edge off.
• 1 Rose Petal - Pleasant aroma calms pitta
• Take with 1/4c Aloe vera juice. Aloe vera removes excess heat and is a cholagogue to draw heat & frustration out of the liver

• Mint - Cools blood, Relaxes blood vessels => person feels calm. Supporting herb not primary.
• Cumin Coriander Fennel Tea relaxes blood vessels and calms the nerves.
• Manjistha - Blood purifier and thinner
• Brahmi - Cools the mind & blood

• Pomegranate Juice - a natural ACE inhibitor that helps keep blood vessels relaxed.
• Favor bitter green vegetables like kale, chicory, & red leaf lettuce. These bitters cleanse the liver and bring hot emotions out of the head and blood back down into the body.
• Coconut oil soothes an overheated liver, especially a liver that is exhausted and deficient.
• Shitali Pranayama - a cooling breath practice that soothes a hot temper.
• Lime - cleanses the liver and cools a hot blooded temper

Herb Formula for Vata type High Blood Pressure

• 3 Dashamoola - Calming & grounding
• 2 Ashwagandha - calms anxiety, grounding, warming, nourishing
• 2 Lemon Balm - soothes the mind, brings calm, antispasmodic
• 2 Hawthorne Berry - cardiac/vascular tonic, antioxidant
• 1 Ginger - calms vata systemically by warming action, improving circulation, and relaxing muscles
• Take 1/4 tsp with warm almond milk and 1 tsp ghee.

• Lavender Essential Oil - calming nervine for anxiety
• Kava - calming nervine for stress/anxiety
• Tincture of milky oats

• Hot milk and sesame oil - nourishing, calming, soothes the mind, increases buffer
• Warm cooked foods at regular times
• Daily alternate nostril breathing