Abstract

“GARLIC” A SIMPLE WAY TO CONTROL HYPERTENSION: A CASE STUDY

Shabir Ahmad Bhat*, Shameem Ahmad Rather and Naquibul Islam

Abstract

Hypertension (Unani = Fisharuddam Qawwi) is defined as a systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg or more and diastolic blood pressure of 90 mmHg or more. Hypertension is one of the most important causes of premature deaths worldwide. It has been estimated that in 2025 about 1.56 billion adults will be living with hypertension. It kills nearly 8 million people every year in the South East Asian region. As per WHO, a more suitable long-acting antihypertensive medication without side effects, that can also reverse complications of hypertension, is still needed. Treasure of literature supports the use of garlic in cardiovascular diseases like lowering blood pressure, prevention of atherosclerosis, reduction of cholesterol and triglycerides, inhibition of platelet aggregation and increasing fibrinolytic activity. Various experiments reveal that garlic is effective in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol level. Current study is to validate and support the use of garlic as an effective and safe alternative management for hypertension.

Keywords: Hypertension, Fisharuddam Qawwi, Garlic, Unani, Alternative management of Hypertension.