Dehydration And High Blood Pressure
How Does Dehydration Cause High Blood Pressure?
Understanding dehydration and high blood pressure is easily understood if we focus on the bend of the aorta. With high blood pressure, the pressure builds up here. Thinking about the blood and what’s causing the pressure to build up at the bend of the aorta can help us to better understand high blood pressure.
Simply put, the blood consists mostly of a watery substance called plasma that we can think of as being like juice, Kool-Aid, sweet tea or the like. The plasma has tiny things like protein nutrients and waste that continue to float in it even when the blood sits still and settles. The larger things floating inside the plasma are red white blood cells that are all still too small to be seen with our eyes. But, the red and white blood cells will settle to the bottom of the blood when the blood sits for a while like you see in the the picture.
Now, thinking in terms of oatmeal can help with understanding what is causing the pressure to build up at the bend of aorta and, in turn, all over the body. In this analogy, the oats represent the red and white blood cells moving throughout your blood. The water, salt and sugar in the oatmeal represents the plasma portion of your blood. If you cook oatmeal with plenty of water in the pot, the oatmeal will be very wet. You can turn the bowl of oatmeal upside down and the oatmeal will run out of the bowl. Why? Because gravity is strong enough to pull the very wet oatmeal from the bowl to the ground.
If you put too little water in the pot when cooking 
the oatmeal, the oatmeal will be so thick that a spoon is able to stand in it. This oatmeal will not run out of the bowl when you turn it upside down. Why? Because gravity is not strong enough to pull the thick oatmeal from the bowl.
Dehydration And High Blood Pressure
How Water Affects High Blood Pressure
If you drink enough water you keep your blood nice and thin and loose. The heart can squeeze with a normal amount of pressure to push the blood that is as thin and loose as it should be up into the aorta. Then, gravity can easily pull the blood down out of the aorta where the aorta bends.
If you don’t drink enough water and end up dehydrated, your blood will thicken. In this case, the heart must work harder using extra (increased) pressure to push the thick blood into the aorta. Then, at the bend of the aorta, gravity is unable to pull the blood down out of the aorta. So, the blood needs some help getting out of the bend of the aorta. Well, what happens next?
Dehydration And High Blood Pressure
Thick Blood & Increased Blood Pressure
When the blood is thickened due to extra toxins floating in the blood, it has to use increased pressure to push and squeeze the blood up into the aorta. This increased pressure is a part of what physicians refer to as increased or high blood pressure.
Since gravity is not strong enough to pull the thickened blood down out of the aorta, the muscles of the blood vessels have to begin squeezing to push the blood down. The muscles have to keep squeezing to help push the blood all the way down to your feet. Each time these muscles squeeze, they increase the pressure inside the blood vessels. This increased pressure exerted by the muscles of the blood vessels is also a part of what physicians are referring to as increased or high blood pressure. Think about this the next time you hear a physician diagnose high blood pressure!
Now, think about what it would take to decrease the blood pressure. Is it medicine? That should not be the only choice recommended to you. Based on what has been presented here, shouldn’t one of the many causes of high blood pressure be considered and addressed. This will allow the possibility of only being on the medicines temporarily. Doesn’t it make sense that it could simply be the underlying cause presented here…simply a matter of thinning the thick blood by drinking water.
Instead of recommending the proper amount of water and helping you figure out how to drink more water, many doctors will simply prescribe something to stop your muscles from squeezing the blood vessels and blood thinners like warfarin which is the active ingredient in rat poison. Keep in mind that this approach prevents the delivery of enough life giving nutrients and oxygen to allow an active life style. So, you get tired and out of breath easily. Brisk walks and jogging may be out of the question!
So, medicines are a good single approach for a person that is on their death bed (though that person is usually given water directly into their veins). But, for the person that still want to have a real life, it is important to address the dehydration if it is the underlying cause of the high blood pressure.
Please understand, there are times when blood pressure medicines are essential to life. There is no doubt about that. Just make sure you ask your doctor about drinking water every time the doctor mentions high blood pressure to you. If your doctor and/or his assistants are not able to tell you the proper amount of water for your size and encourage you to drink it or tell you why you can’t drink the proper amount of water for your size, you might want to choose a better doctor.
Another thing to consider… if your water level gets low enough, the blood pressure can switch to being too low causing many major problems. Again, doesn’t it make sense increase your water levels by drinking the proper amount of water.
At this point, you might be wondering why people drink less water than they need. At Optimum Health, we have found that a protein deficiency is the main reason. Our clients simply correct their protein deficiency and they begin to crave water and drink a lot of it. Then they can say,
“I can keep up with my children again.
My blood pressure stays normal!”
Gloria C, Richmond, Virginia
“I feel wonderful. I can walk long distances again and I don’t
get tired or winded. Most importantly, my
blood pressure sits right at 121/80.”
Valerie G, Richmond, Virginia
Thick Blood and Increased Systolic Blood Pressure
The top number of your blood pressure is your systolic blood pressure. This tells you the pressure inside your blood vessels when your heart is squeezing. Have you noticed that only your systolic blood pressure is elevated? Well, the oatmeal analogy can help with understanding this also.
Next:
Chinese Medicine’s View of Dehydration and High Blood Pressure
Should I stop my blood pressure medicine?
Could dehydration also cause high cholesterol levels?
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