Acupuncture Case Study: High Blood Pressure

I’ve been asked to feature some case studies in my blog and that seems to be a terrific idea.
I will start with this patient who is, now, almost 70 years of age.  He is in a situation I’m starting to see more and more.  He is still working and has no plans to retire.  Unfortunately, work has gotten more strenuous since I’ve started treating him and as a dispatcher he sometimes will have to work all night if someone (often much younger) calls in sick.  When he first came in, his main complaint was hypertension (160/90) and some gastrointestinal “sluggishness.”  His treatment originally consisted of two treatments a week for two weeks, and then a treatment every other week. As you can see, he has been coming in once a month now for almost two years.  In addition to the acupuncture he takes herbs in pill form, Great Yin and Gastrodia Relieve Wind (a formula I find extremely useful in some cases of high blood pressure.)  His GI problems remain much improved and as you can see by the chart his blood pressure remains under control also, though there has been some upward drift due to the stressful hours at work.  I feel comfortable with this level of blood pressure control in this patient of almost 70 years and pleased he’s been able to remain unmedicated.  When his hours go back to normal, I predict his systolic blood pressure will go back to lower levels.