Integrative Treatment of Hypertension: A Clinical and Mechanistic Approach

Given current trends toward obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and poor diets, hypertension is increasingly becoming a disease of the young as well as the elderly, affecting about 1 billion people worldwide. Many patients, especially the younger ones, would prefer alternative treatments. While natural remedies have been used for much longer than pharma

About the Author

Joel A. Blush, M.D., Ph.D., is a practicing dual board-certified nephrologist and internist in a large community-based practice. He has a particular interest in the mechanisms of blood pressure regulation and in the treatment of hypertension, having academic responsibilities in teaching nephrology in affiliated university hospitals. He was awarded degrees in chemistry, achieving master's and doctorate degrees from Harvard University. He attended medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, followed by residency training in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and fellowship training in nephrology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Blush is well published with many journal articles in chemistry, physics, and medicine, and has received several academic and research awards in these fields. With deference to his scientific training, he also has a strong interest in natural and alternative treatments of disease. Since his time as a medical student, he has pursued its study spending time in the Amazon rain forest taking courses in alternative medicine and botanical drug use. Dr. Blush brings to his practice a mixed scientific/medical and alternative/holistic approach to treating disease, specifically hypertension, and has successfully integrated this in the treatment of many patients.