EVALUATION OF ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION BASED ON RAKTADUSHTI HETU AND LAKSHANA OF VIDHISHONITEEYA ADHYAYA

Hypertension is a silent killer and the method to identify it remains to be by measuring it by regular intervals. People may have complaints like dull headaches, dizzy spells, nosebleeds and sometimes associated with chest pain, severe anxiety, vision changes shortness of breath and nose bleed.According to WHO report of Prevention and Control for Cardio vascular diseases, 2001-2002, it is estimated that 600 million people are affected world wide with Hypertension. By the year 2025, approximately 1 in 3 adults aged over 20 years - 1.56 billion people worldwide, will have hypertension.The disease named as Uchcha Raktachapa is neither denoted in Samhita nor in any Samgraha Granthas, but it is stated that every disease can not be given nomenclature every time. The term ‘hypertension’ was nominated after the invention of Sphygmomanometer but before that about its existence, one can trace the pathway on the tract of symptomatology.These efforts of tracing Hypertension gave rise to different opinions. Some of them are: Raktagata Vata, Dhamani Purnata, Siragata Vata, Dhamani Pratichaya, Vyanabala Vriddhi, Avruta Vata, Ajirna - Udavarta etc. Acharya Priyavrat Sharma has mentioned it as ‘Raktavata’. The hetu and lakshana of essential hypertension seems to be in line with the description of vidhishoniteeya adhyaya. The critical analysis may enable us to understand essential hypertension from Ayurveda perspective and enables to find suitable modalities of the treatment.

Study design: cross sectional survey study

•Source of Data: OPD & IPD of SDM College of Ayurveda and Hospital, Hassan

•Sampling: Purposive sampling for questionnaire administration.

•Sample size: 362

Selection criteria:

•Diagnostic Criteria:

The patients are diagnosed based on the measurement of blood pressure for 3 consecutive times with the gap of 10 minutes and will be categorized based on the American Heart Association criteria for the study.

•INCLUSION CRITERIA

•Patients of both gender and willing to give consent.

•Patients who have less than one year origin.

•Patients above the age group of 30 to 70 years.

Patients who do not have any complications raised out of hypertension.

•EXCLUSION CRITERIA

•Patients of hypertension with any other systemic involvement.

•Pregnancy induced hypertension.

•Secondary hypertension.

Survey study

1   Pilot Study

•Pilot study will be conducted for 50 patients who are diagnosed based on AHA criteria with no less than 1 year and assessed for raktadushti hetu and raktadushti lakshana. The generated questions will be checked for internal consistency and reliability by applying chronbach’s alpha. The questions with the readings of chronbach’s alpha more than 0.6 will be considered for the study.

Preparation of questionnaire

•Questionnaire will be prepared with following domains

•Domain 1 : consists of questions related to raktadushti hetu as mentioned in vidhishoniteeya adhyaya and causative factors  of essential hypertension as per contemporary science.

Domain 2 : consists of questions related to raktadushti Lakshana as mentioned in vidhishoniteeya adhyaya and signs and symptoms of essential hypertension as per contemporary science.

•The data obtained will be analysed for drawing conclusions.