Hypertension and CBD
Arterial hypertension or AHT increases the risk of heart attack or stroke (thrombosis or stroke). The World Health Organization lists this disease as the leading cause of death in the world.
In Spain, 41.3% of people over 65 years of age suffer from hypertension. But, contrary to what one might believe, it does not exclusively affect the older population; young people also suffer from tension problems, representing 25% of people between 25 and 45 years of age.
CBD for hypertension
There are research studies indicating that CBD products help lower blood pressure. In addition, it has also been proposed for use in pulmonary hypertension.
A 2020 study found that CBD may have vasodilatory effects on arteries, improving blood flow by widening blood vessels.
The study investigated CBD's ability to relax human pulmonary arteries and rat mesenteric (digestive system) arteries.
In culture, CBD was able to relax both human pulmonary and rat mesenteric arteries. As for the transmission process, everything seems to indicate that the receptors involved are the Vanilloids and gamma PPARs, not the CB1 and CB2 receptors, through which THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of the Cannabis sativa plant) acts.
These data confirm conclusions of previous studies, such as this one conducted in 2017 by three researchers who observed a decrease in blood pressure in healthy volunteers after administration of CBD, which reduced blood pressure in both resting and stressed individuals.
Hypertension and stress
Stress can also cause blood pressure to rise. CBD has demonstrated its effects in this field and can be a powerful ally in keeping our blood pressure under control. Stress affects us because it makes the heart pump faster and stress hormones constrict the blood vessels.
Symptoms of hypertension
We should pay attention to possible warning signs, such as morning headaches with different characteristics than usual, irregular heartbeat, lightheadedness, dizziness or visual disturbances.
Prevention and treatment of hypertension
Some healthy recommendations to keep hypertension away from us are:
- Avoid being overweight.
- Don't smoke.
- Drink little coffee and alcoholic beverages.
- Prepare food with little salt.
- Include more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.
- Avoid bakery products.
- Eat more fish than meat.
- Exercise daily (30 to 45 minutes).
On the other hand, it should be noted that CBD is not used to replace prescription medication for high blood pressure. You should consult your doctor if you take blood pressure medication and want to add CBD to your daily routine.
