Hypertension

Western medicine defines hypertension, or high blood pressure, as a condition where the force exerted by blood against the walls of blood vessels is consistently elevated. This is quantified by two metrics: systolic pressure during heartbeats and diastolic pressure between beats, categorized into five stages for diagnostic clarity (Wright et al., 2011, Journal of Clinical Hypertension). In contrast, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) ascribes hypertension to a specific pattern of disharmony called "liver wind agitation due to liver yang rising" (Xiong et al., 2015, Journal of Integrative Medicine). This pattern can arise from various root causes such as liver yin deficiency, liver and kidney yin deficiency, or liver blood deficiency. TCM posits that untreated liver yang rising can generate interior wind, a condition marked by symptoms like tremors and spasms. Both paradigms provide distinct but complementary frameworks for understanding and treating hypertension.