Ayurvedic Review of Hypertension - Pathophysiology and Treatment: Review Article

Hypertension (HTN) is a major global noncommunicable disease and a key risk factor for cardiovascular, renal, and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality. Modern medicine regards hypertension as a multifactorial disorder of vascular, renal, neural, and endocrine regulation of blood pressure. From the Ayurvedic perspective, hypertension is not mentioned by name in classical texts, but scholars have attempted to map it to concepts such as Raktagata Vata, Raktavrita Vata, Raktapradoshaja Vikara, Avarana, and tridosha imbalance. In Ayurveda, pathogenesis involves vitiation and obstruction (avarana) of Vata (especially apana and vyana Vata) in relation to rasa‐rakta and srotas, with secondary involvement of Pitta and Kapha, and derangement of dhatus (particularly rakta, mamsa, meda). Therapeutic approaches in Ayurveda include shodhana (e.g. Virechana, Basti, Nasya), shamana (oral herbal medicines, Rasayana, medhya), diet–lifestyle (Ahara–Vihara–Sadvrutta), and Yoga. Some clinical and experimental studies suggest beneficial effects of Ayurvedic herbs (e.g. Sarpagandha, Arjuna, Brahmi) and therapies (e.g. Shirodhara, Basti) in reducing blood pressure. However, robust randomized controlled trials are sparse and mechanistic understanding remains limited. This review critically examines modern physiology of hypertension, classical Ayurvedic views of hypertension, and available evidence for Ayurvedic management, with directions for further research.