Holistic Hypertension Management

Abstract

Hypertension (HTN) is a major health care problem affecting nearly half of American's adult population. HTN is one of the costliest diagnoses among cardiovascular disease and leads to other major cardiovascular complications, which increase overall morbidity and mortality. Of those diagnosed with HTN in America, only one-fourth of patients are living with well-controlled HTN. This evidenced-based HTN management practice innovation was conducted to explore evidenced-based, holistic nursing practice of a low-sodium dietary approach to stop hypertension (DASH) diet, and exercise alongside antihypertensive medication management in decreasing systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in adult patients diagnosed with HTN. This community-based holistic care initiative supports data previously published, which suggests a low-sodium DASH diet, exercise, and antihypertensive medication management are effective in decreasing SBP and DBP. This project supported clinicians seeking to integrate a complementary holistic and traditional approach to HTN management in patients diagnosed with HTN.