Hypertension Psychology and Homoeopathic Treatment
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 1996 Jan / Feb Vol V No 1.
H G.
Cases.
` Nat-m / Glon / Ign / Gels / Apis.
Arterial hypertension is a disease of modern civilization. This fact would, therefore, imply the importance of personality type and way of life in the genesis of high blood-pressure. The the way of life has a great deal to do with arterial tension is emphasized by the fact that high blood-pressure, unknown among African Negroes, is particularly wide-spread among African Negroes Again, investigations of certain monastic orders, such as he Trappists, who are vegetarians and take the vow of silence, have shown that they never suffer from high blood-pressure compared to other groups of whites of the same age group.
Depending on the origin, high blood-pressure is grouped into three causes: renal, endocrine & psychogenic. There may be often a mixture of all three causes leading to arterial hypertension. From the point of prognosis, the differentiation is made into benign and malignant hypertension, the latter developing at a rather earl age and characterized particularly by fixed high diastolic pressure levels above 120 mm.
The renal type is caused by either inflammatory or degenerative processes involving the glomeruli and the arterioles of the kidney, leading in severe cases to nephrosclerosis. The purely endocrine type is due either to adrenal corticular medullary dysfunction or due to tumor formation in the adrenal medulla. The vast majority of cases, and those with which we are mainly concerned in this paper, are the cases of so-called Essential Hypertension. Recent research has led to the conviction that this most common type is due, at least to a great extent, to psychogenic factors.
There are two theories which try to explain the development of high blood-pressure, the neural and the humoral theories. According to the humoral theory, based on experiments, ischemia release a chemical agent, renin which converts a blood globulin to the active pressor substance which acts, constricting the smooth muscles of the blood vessels.
The neural theory assumes direct influence upon the blood vessels through an increases of tonus of the vasomotor centre and the sympathetic nerve. It is possible that neurogenic stimulation of the renal vessels may lead to vasoconstriction, subsequent ischemia, and may set the humoral mechanism in motion, thus producing a vicious circle. The neurogenic excitation in turn may be of humoral origin, brought about by stimulation of the adrenals.
Cannon, in his classic studies, found that the emotions of fear and rage produce and increase in blood pressure through stimulation of the adrenals. These experiments supply the fundament for the theory of the emotional origin of high blood-pressure which has been further elaborated by Franz Alexander and others, who have employed psychological methods for the study and treatment of patients with high blood-pressure. Alexander found that different personality types with high blood-pressure had all one common trait, their inability to express a basic hostility and aggressive feelings freely, thus inhibiting and suppressing the emotions of anger, fear,and rage. The excitatory influence of the emotion of rage turns inward and, if not released through action, it will lead (according to Cannons findings) to a chronic stimulation of the adrenal and sympathetic system, and, consequently, through neural or humoral pathways, or a combination of them, to an elevation of the blood-pressure levels. This rise will be in the beginning of the cycle of more passing nature, but will, later on, by producing, in this process lasting damage to the arterioles of the kidneys, develop into fixed high blood-pressure.
There are some contributing factors in the genesis of hypertension, such as obesity, heavy smoking, sedentary life habits, and possibly toxic substances which one meets in everyday life and to which certain persons may be particularly susceptible. I should like to mention the fact that drinking water is supplied through lead pipes and if th amount of lead found in 1 litre of drinking water (which amounts to approximately a 6x attenuation) after staying in a lead pipe for nine hours, does not exceed 0.1 mg per litre, it is considered harmless. Since cases of lead poisoning through drinking water have been reported when the amount of the dissolved lead was 5.5 mg per litre, it is possible that a chronic intake of very small amounts of lead through the drinking water may produce, in sensitive individuals, those kidney changes characteristic of lead which are responsible for an increase in blood pressure. The same might be said now also of the tetra ethyl lead contained in gasoline, and the possible chronic effect of inhalation of the exhaust gases.
In severe cases with acute changes, bed rest for a period of time might be advisable and help to reduce an excessive rise in arterial tension. Where sedentary life habits seen to have an adverse influence moderate exercise in the form of regular walks will benefit. The importance of physical and mental relaxation in hypertension must be stressed and here proper psychotherapy, particularly in incipient cases may have a truly curative value. A decrease in smoking or, when necessary, a complete elimination of the smoking habit, is often advisable, considering the blood-pressure raising quality of nicotine. Among dietary measures, nothing can reduce high blood-pressure quicker than a period of fasting or a pure fruit diet, which can be combined of fasting or a pure fruit diet, which can be combined with bed rest. A vegetarian diet has proved definitely helpful. Microscopic examination of the capillaries of persons experimenting with meat and vegetable diets has shown that a meat diet produces capillary contraction, which disappears with change to a predominantly vegetarian diet. Reducing of weight in obese patients is vegetarian diet. Reducing of weight in obese patients is always advisable, since with loss of weight often the blood-pressures, including moderate reduction of salt, the so called rice diet, with its unpleasant monotony and only transitory effect, becomes superfluous.
However, many of these measures will not be necessary, or will serve as auxiliary measures only, if we employ our Homoeopathic remedies for treating patients with high blood-pressure. We naturally do not treat the high blood-pressure, but the patient who exhibits a totality of various characteristic symptoms supplying the basis for the prescription.
Every remedy in our Materia Medica can become a remedy, relieving with the totality of the symptoms as also the symptom of an elevated blood pressure.
Antedating psychosomatic medicine for a hundred and fifty years, Hahnemann stressed the prime importance of the mental symptoms in all physical disorders, and this will apply quite naturally to those disturbances and this will essential high blood-pressure is suspected to be mainly of emotional origin. When the psychosomaticist speaks of resentment and suppressed anger in the high blood-pressure patient, then Aurum, among other, has had this indication for the Homoeopathist for over a hundred years, and often has proved curative; so have Nux-vomica, Natrum-muriaticum, Cocculus and other with the same mental symptom but with a different personality type.
When the modern psychosomatically-oriented allopath emphasizes the underlying timidity in the high-blood-pressure-type patient,the homoeopath knows that Baryta-carb and plumbum rank high in this rubric.
There is a group of substances, some of them part of our Materia Medica, which are able to raise the blood, pressure through their physiological action. To give a list of these drugs , we mention the following-Nicotine (Tabacum), Strychnine (Nux vomica), veratrine (Veratrum viride), Ephedrine (Ephedrine), Ergotoxine (Secale), Picrotoxine (Cocculus), Digitoxin (Digitalis), Among among inorganic substances-Natrum muriaticum, Barium, Plumbum. Among endocrine products- Adrenalin, Pituitrin.
On one or another occasion, but always on the basis of the totality of symptoms, one or another of these remedies will be indicated; however, since the basis of our prescription will be always the totality of the characteristic symptoms, with the mental symptoms in the lead, any remedy of the Materia Medica can prove to be curative in a patient with high blood-pressure. A few examples will serve to bear out this contention:.
CASES;
(I)
A 32-year-old male patient has suffered from malignant hypertension since the age of 24, when it was discovered. He was first seen after an apoplectic attack with right sided hemiplegia, from which he completely recovered. He makes a pleasant impression but admits to getting angry frequently without showing it. He perspires easily, is thirsty & likes salt. His face often looks flushed. His blood-pressure is 160/115 Natrum mur 200, one dose.
He returned one month later feeling very well blood-pressure 140/90. Because of recurrence of a chronic condition of bronchial asthma, other remedies have to be given from now on. Half a year later the blood-pressure showed a new rise. Again Natrum- mur 200, one dose, with the same effect as before. REcently, five years since, the patient was reported as continuing being very well.
(2)
Female patient, 58 years old, came to the office complaining, about daily attacks of dizziness and congestions to the head. Blood-pressure 220/110. Glonoine 200, one dose, brought the systolic pressure to 180 in two weeks. The pressure went up again to 190/105.
Inquiries about her life and her emotional attitude finally furnished the information: All her life she felt basically that life is not worth living. Aurum met 200, one dose, brought the blood-pressure immediately to 150/90 with disappearance of all symptoms, and for months it has stayed this way.
(3)
Female patient, 60 years of age, complained about dizziness. Blood pressure 205/110. Worried about a young niece for whom she felt responsible. Frequently suppressed anger. Disliked salt but had to eat rather salty food during a vacation of two months. Natrum mur 200, one dose. Blood pressure came down to 150 and has remained that way for half a year.
(4)
An 82 years old woman, had suffered from high blood pressure with very obstinate occipital headaches, for a number of years. Both cleared up after Carbo-an. A sudden shock, provoked by bad news, made the systolic pressure climb to 200. Gelsemium 1 M, one dose, brought blood-pressure down within 24 hours to 150, with general calming effect, and relieved a situation potentially dangerous at this age, instantly.
(5)
A female patient, 70 years old, developed a cold with nightly attacks of cough and mild wheezing, persisting and reminding one of cardiac asthma in the initial stage. Kali-carb relieved but not permanently. The blood-pressure stayed at 200/100. After quite some time of treatment of he bronchial condition, the patient reluctantly revealed a deep emotional involvement in a love affair which made her particularly unhappy because of her age. Ignatia 200, one dose. The next time I saw her, two weeks later, the blood-pressure was 130, and the patient felt better in every respect, including her mental distress.
(6)
A female patient, nearing her eighties, was greatly worried about her blood pressure, which was around 170. She was in the habit of letting things drop. She had constant fear of a stroke. Apis 200, single dose. The blood-pressure came down to 140, and after the one dose of Apis stayed normal for the past five years.
