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Hypertension : Definition
   
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Hypertension is known as abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries. When your heart beats, it pumps blood to the arteries and creates pressure in them. Blood pressure is responsible for delivering oxygen to your organs, because without oxygen the organs would not work. Blood pressure rises as a normal response to stress and physical activity. However, people with hypertension have high blood pressure even when they are not undergoing a lot of physical activity. Normal blood pressure is usually less than 140/90 mm Hg, defined as millimeters of mercury, for an adult. Blood pressure that hovers above this level is considered high. Your health care provider may take several readings before making a decision about whether your blood pressure is considered to be in the high range.

Hypertension increases your risk for developing coronary heart disease, which may lead to a heart attack or stroke.

 
 
 
 
According to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), there is no term or definition that specifically refers to the modern definition of hypertension. The disease is characterized in TCM by common symptoms like headache, dizziness and light headedness, and comes under related TCM syndrome categories such as "dizziness" and "headache." Some specific types of hypertension are also related with other TCM syndromes, such as "coma" and "convulsion," that occur in hypertensive brain disease as well as "pre-eclampsia", which is the syndrome of severe hypertension during pregnancy.

In ancient China, people did not have effective drugs to control hypertension. As a result it led to the development of many secondary diseases that damaged related organs such as the brain and heart. Stroke, one of the four major syndromes in TCM, often develops from hypertension. Other major syndrome complications include chest discomfort (caused by improper movement of qi and blood in chest), cardiac asthma (asthma caused by heart disease), and edema (swelling).

The diagnosis and treatment of hypertension symptoms are mentioned in a variety of TCM medical classics. The early descriptions of hypertension can be found in the medical classic Huang Di Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic ) written during the Han Dynasty (approx. 200 B.C.). The Treatise of the Truth and Grand Quintessence section under this classic's Suwen (The Book of Plain Questions) section, has the following to say about dizziness: "dizziness caused by wind evil are related to the liver disorder." The classic's Formation of Five Organs section reads,"external evils that invade the head will generally show symptoms like headache and lower limb weakness. "

Later many TCM practitioners mentioned hypertension symptoms in their medical classics. For example, under the dizziness section in the book entitled Secret Storage of Orchid Chamber, it reads, "blurred vision and dizziness are caused by wind evil inside the body, and should be treated with the herb named Tall Gastrodia Tube. " According to the book Guiding Cases for Clinical Treatment, "people with dizziness will soon develop stroke," and "the cause of headache and dizziness are related to the liver."

In TCM's view, hypertension usually originates from over stimulation of emotions, internal injuries and improper diet. These external factors cause an imbalance of yin and yang, and disturb of qi and blood movement inside the body. The liver and kidney are usually the most affected. Formation of internal body evils such as wind, fire, phlegm and blood stasis give rise to different TCM syndrome patterns.