Hypertension or High Blood Pressure is the leading cause of death in the world today. The bigger danger with hypertension is that the person suffering from this condition may not even realize that he or she is suffering from this condition until it may become too late.

Hypertension itself is a very dangerous condition; but it can cause drastic damage to the liver, brain, kidneys and the heart. The damage to these vital organs is the most important cause of death.

The human heart beat has two distinct phases – the systole when the heart is beating, and the diastole when the heart is at rest. During both the times, the heart exerts pressure on the blood. When you take a blood pressure reading, the doctor will use a device known as a sphygmomanometer tied around your arm. Then he or she will give you two readings. Out of these the higher reading is the pressure of your systole, while the lower reading is the pressure of the diastole.

The normal values of systolic and diastolic blood pressures are as follows:-

• For systole, the normal blood pressure is 140.
• For diastole, the normal blood pressure is 90.

So, if the person’s reading shows consistently over 140 systolic pressure and consistently over 90 diastolic pressure, then the person is suffering from hypertension.

Even before the actual hypertension sets in, there may be certain indications. If the person’s systolic pressure is in the range of 120 to 139 and if the diastolic pressure is looming between 80 and 89, then it is indicative of hypertension in the future. This warning condition is called as pre-hypertension. If care is taken during this stage, then it does not predispose to hypertension. In Ayurveda , all the three doshas are considered responsible for rakta gata vata, i.e. hypertension. For the three different types of vitiation, there are different symptoms observed.


Medical science recognizes two distinct types of hypertension – essential malignant hypertension
Essential hypertension occurs due to the increase in the systolic pressure of the heart as the age advances. This is a common condition found in most people who have crossed the middle age. This condition can be controlled with the proper precautions, and indeed, people with essential hypertension are known to live up to a ripe old age also. This is also called as primary hypertension

Malignant hypertension occurs due to the disorders of any of the vital organs, such as the brain, the liver and the kidneys. Hormonal imbalances can also cause hypertension in some cases. These are very fatal and need to remedied urgently. This is also called as secondary hypertension.


Since hypertension can be caused by the vitiation of any of the threedoshas>, the causes can be different too. The following is a list of exacerbating factors of hypertension in the perspective of the three doshas.

• Hypertension caused due to vata dosha can be increased due to mental anxiety tensions, stress and worries.
• Hypertension caused due to pitta dosha can be increased due to strong emotions such as anger, shock, hatred and jealousy.
• Hypertension caused due to kapha dosha can be increased due to malignant factors such as malfunctioning of the vital organs.

The causes of the medical types of hypertension, i.e. essential and malignant hypertension are as follows Essential hypertension is mostly idiopathic, i.e. its cause is unknown. However the following factors are strong indicators of the Diseases:-

• Aging, due to which the systolic pressure of the heart increases
• Diet such as one rich in fried and salty foods
• Hereditary factors

Malignant hypertension can be caused due to host of problems with the vital organs of brain liver and the kidneys. Renal fibrosis, Cushing’s Syndrome, adrenal gland tumors, Wilm’s tumor are just some of the conditions that can cause hypertension. However the most prevalent causes are Kidney problem such as renal failure, renal vascular obstruction or glomerulonephritis.

People with high blood pressure have to suffer a lot of problematic symptoms. The following are some of the hypertension symptoms:

• The person will feel regular giddiness, dizziness and a feeling of instability.
• Palpitations are common.
• Hypertension sufferers are generally insomniacs, i.e. they cannot sleep well at night.
• Slight exertion can cause dyspnoea.
• Even the digestive system may play truant and there may be regular constipation.