Blood Pressure

Hypertension, as defined in Western medicine, encompasses a chronic elevation of blood pressure, signifying the force exerted by blood against vessel walls. This condition is characterized by two numerical values: systolic pressure, indicating blood's ejection from the heart into arteries, and diastolic pressure, during the heart's resting phase. A normal blood pressure reading averages at 120/80 mm Hg (Whelton et al., 2018, Hypertension). Contrasting this, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) associates the emotion of anger with the liver, a pivotal organ. TCM identifies two prevalent hypertension patterns. The first pattern features internal liver wind due to elevated liver yang, which, over time, generates interior wind. This pattern's genesis may stem from various deficiencies, encompassing liver yin, liver and kidney yin, and liver blood (Li et al., 2017, Chinese Medicine). The second pattern entails liver wind agitation prompted by liver blood deficiency. In chronic instances, vessels may become vacuous, allowing wind to occupy space (Li et al., 2015, Chinese Medicine). These TCM patterns reveal intricate connections between hypertension's emotional and physiological aspects.