Herbs Used for the Treatment of Hypertension and their Mechanism of Action

Abstract

There is great interest lately, in the use of herbs for the treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Herbs and plants contain many phytochemicals that have been effective in the treatment of CVD and hypertension. Accumulating scientific evidence provides a reason for the use of herbs by health practitioners for treating their patients. The rationale for this expanding use of herbs is the belief of patients in a "holistic medicine" and that herbs are natural, safe, and effective. However, there are reasons of concern with the use of herbs, because they are not regulated or supervised carefully and their use could lead to serious complications or interactions with their combination with traditional medicines. In addition, their use is associated with significant out of pocket expenses, because their use is not compensated by health insurance providers. In this review, we present the scientific evidence for the use of herbs.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Herb costs; Herb safety; Herbal effectiveness; Herbs and hypertension; Hypertension.