Blood Pressure – High

Circulatory System

As your heart pumps blood through your arteries, the force of the blood flow exerts pressure on the arterial walls. If your heart pumps blood through your circulatory system with a force that is much greater than necessary to maintain a steady flow, you have hypertension, or high blood pressure. High blood pressure, left untreated, can lead to heart failure or kidney failure. It can also affect vessels in the brain, causing a stroke.

Essential Oils:

Top Note: basil, clary sage, lemon, mandarin, yarrow

Middle Note: juniper, lavender, marjoram, melissa, hyssop

Base Note: immortelle, ylang ylang, linden blossom

*This massage blend is especially designed for the over-sixties with high blood pressure:

• 5 drops hyssop

• 10 drops marjoram

• 15 drops geranium

Diluted in 30ml vegetable oil.

Massage once a day

*Synergistic Bath Blend:

• 15 drops marjoram

• 5 drops lavender

• 10 drops geranium

Blend together in these proportions and use 4 drops per bath

*Source: Worwood Valerie Ann, The Fragrant Pharmacy. Bantam Books 1991

Self Help:

• If you smoke, give it up, or at least cut down as much as possible

• If you are overweight, go on a sensible diet

• Do not salt your food, and give up salt-rich foods like salami, pickles, and salted foods like potato chips and nuts

• Take supplements such as vitamin A in the beta-carotene form, vitamins C and E, selenium, geranium and CoQ10

• Try to make your work schedule less demanding – take time to R-E-L-A-X

Herbs:

• Bee pollen, kelp and carrot juice help lower blood pressure

• Hawthorne – reduces cholesterol, dilates coronary blood vessels, prevents and reverses plaque formation

• Cayenne – helps dilate arteries and improves circulation

Gemstones for Healing:

• Sodalite

Carry or wear

Reflexology areas to emphasize:

• Heart – main reflex point
• Solar plexus – to bring balance to the alarm reaction of the body
• Adrenal glands – the key endocrine glands for meeting stress
• Kidneys – seek to compensate for restricted blood flow by releasing a hormone to increase blood pressure
• Pituitary – master gland of the endocrine system