I was just watching the news and felt my heart start to race a little because of some recent events in the Fort Lauderdale area. I then got a google alert to remind me of a giant list of projects and appointments I have on my calendar today. Then I realized I forgot about my eggs on the stove, and realized the water was boiling over the sides of the pot.

I felt my ears get hot and my heart rate pick up even more – I then realized how unhealthy it was to feel all of this, all before 8am.

Now, as someone who is always conscious of how her health is being affected by the lifestyle choices she makes, the level of stress we’re under as people just trying to get by on a day to day basis, worries me. I often wonder how the stress will affect my heart, my blood pressure, and my overall sense of health and wellness.

According to www.heart.org, stress is a potential contributing risk factor for high blood pressure. Even scarier, high blood pressure now affects one in three Americans, an absurdly high number to wrap our heads around, according to the CDC.

High blood pressure (HBP or hypertension) is when your blood pressure, the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your blood vessels, is consistently too high.

Even worse is that most people are living with high blood pressure and don’t even know it. The direct causes of high blood pressure include unhealthy eating habits, being overweight and/or sedentary, drinking, drugs, and poor lifestyle choices. And the effects are even greater. People with high blood pressure are at a higher risk for:

• Stroke
• Vision Loss
• Heart Failure
• Heart Attack
• Kidney Disease
• Sexual Dysfunction

But like so many other things in this world that ail us, chiropractic care can help cut your high blood pressure. More specifically, we can rest assured that Dr. Gena and her dedicated team of professionals at Dr. Gena Chiropractic are here to help you co-manage your high blood pressure with the help of your medical doctor.

In an article published by WebMD, it was reported that a special chiropractic adjustment, performed by a licensed and professional chiropractor, can significantly lower high blood pressure.

 "This procedure has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination," study leader George Bakris, MD, tells WebMD. "And it seems to be adverse-event free. We saw no side effects and no problems," adds Bakris, director of the University of Chicago hypertension center.

Eight weeks after undergoing the procedure, 25 patients with early-stage high blood pressure had significantly lower blood pressure than 25 similar patients who underwent a placebo technique.

So, what is this chiropractic technique that is proven to lower high blood pressure?

It’s an adjustment that focuses on the Atlas vertebra. Named for the fact that this vertebra holds the head up the same way the titan Atlas holds up the world in Greek mythology, some chiropractors have often referred to the atlas as the “fuse box to the body.” Injury to the Atlas vertebra can affect blood flow in the arteries at the base of the skull. Studies have shown that a misaligned Atlas triggers release of signals that make the arteries contract – making the work of a chiropractor, and their ability to focus on these signals, crucially important to lowering high blood pressure.

For more information about how chiropractic care can help you lower your high blood pressure*, visit Dr. Gena Chiropractic, located just minutes west of Fort Lauderdale in Plantation, today!

At Dr. Gena Chiropractic, your health is in your hands, but our hands are here to help!

*It is important to remember that once starting chiropractic care for high blood pressure, you should also continue to see your medical doctor to help manage your blood pressure levels and asses the need for medication. Often times, after being under chiropractic care for a while, many of these patients are able to either have their dosages lowered and in some cases, are able to stop taking their medication all together – but this is a decision only a medical doctor can make safely.