Integrative Medicine and Functional Medicine for Chronic Hypertension

Integrative Medicine and Functional Medicine for Chronic Hypertension provides healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the educated public more than a review of treatments for chronic hypertension; this book outlines and substantiates a paradigm shift that will broaden the reader s perspective and enable a new approach to hypertension management and disease prevention. Further, in the process of exploring the topic of hypertension, readers will see how the functional medicine approach that is described herein can be applied to other important health problems commonly encountered in clinical practice and public health. Hypertension commonly known as high blood pressure is the most common diagnosis in the practice of medicine, and it affects an estimated one billion people worldwide and at least 50 million people in the United States. The global prevalence is approximately 25%, meaning that 1 of every 4 persons in the world has high blood pressure. Because the underlying metabolic problems (dysfunctions) that cause hypertension are becoming more common, by the year 2025 the number of affected persons is estimated to reach 1.56 billion people worldwide. Clearly, everyone with a stake in healthcare and with concern about their own personal health from physicians, to politicians, to the general public can benefit from the approaches described in this book that promote optimal health and the prevention of diseases in general, hypertension in particular. This textbook teaches the public and the healthcare communities how to (re)create the social and personal environments to promote optimal health wellness and then details the causes, respective assessments, lab tests, and the best treatment approaches for chronic hypertension. Patients with the condition and the doctors who care for them will all benefit from the information in this book, which is supported by hundreds of scientific publications, years of clinical experience, and Dr Vasquez s unique perspective from his diverse training encompassing three doctoral degrees in three separate healthcare professions.