This method is developed by Prof.Dr.Karl Hecht, MD, who is a proponent of treating high blood pressure not with medications, but with NaturMed health program and life style changes. Prof.Hecht has stated that, lowering high blood pressure by means of antihypertensive medication gives more harm that treating the patient, as this kind of medication triggers new health problems such as sleeping disorders, dizziness, or fatigue. According to Prof.Hecht, it is important to measure blood pressure in an appropriate fashion which leads to a correct diagnosis.
Factors affecting blood pressure
- Every kind of physical and emotional change, nutrition and life style affects blood pressure, such as: exercise, pain, stress, thoughts, emotions, relaxation, temperature, smoking, alcohol, caffeine, salt and fat consumption.
- The blood pressure changes during the day. Between 07:00-10:00 am and 16:00-19:00 pm it is the highest and at 03:00 am it is the lowest.
- Whitecoat hypertension: High blood pressure which occurs only at the doctor's office. It is a result of stress, expectations, waiting too long at the doctor’s office, impolite attitude of the doctor or other medical staff and etc. This is a common problem, affecting up to 20 percent of the population.
Blood Pressure Regulation Therapy (BPRT) in NaturMed
- BPRT is a relaxation method developed by Prof.Dr.Karl Hecht, MD. The goal is to regulate the blood pressure, to see the relaxation capacity of the person, and to get the most accurate results. It is not only a method to verify if the person actually has hypertension, but a technique also to regulate blood pressure using the person’s own relaxation capacity.
- BPRT is applied in a quiet room, neither too cold, nor too warm.
- The person should quit blood pressure medication before the therapy.
- Positioning: Blood pressure is measured while the person is seated comfortably. The person should relax for at least 10 minutes before the measurement to adjust to the room temperature. The arm used for measurement should be uncovered, and supported at the level of the heart.
- A measurement right after exercise or smoking, caffeine consumption and etc. leads to inaccurate results as they all raise the blood pressure.
- The proper cuff size for the person should be chosen. The "default" cuff that is usually kept in the examining room is meant to be used for average sized people, and will not produce an accurate reading if you are larger or smaller than average.
- Automatic blood pressure monitors provide better results in comparison to the conventional ones. The main reason is that they are operator independent and are automatic, which provide accurate results. Also they are easy to use and have digital readouts. They do not require using a stethoscope or other difficult steps. Due to this reason, blood pressure regulation therapy is applied using automatic devices.
- One measurement is not enough to get an accurate result. There is an essential need for multiple measurements to watch how the values change. In BPRT, first the person is guided to relax with deep breathing exercise. Then, the blood pressure is measured 10 times in 10 minutes. In addition to these multiple measurements at one session, the measurements should be repeated every day.