Cardiovascular Health

Understanding Primary Hypertension

High blood pressure with no clear cause—but real consequences.

Primary hypertension (also known as essential or idiopathic hypertension) affects approximately 95% of people with high blood pressure. Unlike secondary hypertension, this form has no identifiable underlying cause—but it can lead to serious health risks if left unmanaged.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of:

• Heart attack

• Heart failure

• Stroke

• Kidney damage

• Vision problems

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Conventional Treatments

Most treatment plans begin with lifestyle modifications, which may include:

• Reducing stress

• Eating a heart-healthy diet

• Regular physical activity

• Limiting alcohol intake

• Quitting smoking

• Cutting sodium intake (≤ 2.4g/day)

• Practicing heart coherence and breathing-based relaxation techniques

When lifestyle changes alone aren’t enough, antihypertensive medications are typically prescribed to bring blood pressure under control.

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The Missing Link: Your Breathing

Research shows that how you breathe may play a more important role in cardiovascular health than previously thought.

Many people unknowingly over-breathe—breathing more than their body’s actual needs. This leads to a drop in carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in the blood, a condition called hypocapnia. Low CO₂ impacts the heart in several ways:

• Reduces blood flow to the heart

• Impairs oxygen delivery to heart tissue (Bohr effect)

• Increases oxygen demand by making the heart work harder

These changes can contribute to:

• High blood pressure

• Atrial fibrillation

• Increased risk of heart attack and stroke

Conditions like snoring and sleep apnoea—both signs of dysfunctional breathing—are already recognised risk factors in cardiovascular disease.

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What You Can Do

Breathing is automatic—but that doesn’t mean it’s always efficient.

The breathing retraining programme is designed to:

• Restore a healthy breathing pattern

• Improve cardiovascular efficiency

• Support blood pressure regulation

• Reduce long-term cardiovascular risk

By addressing dysfunctional breathing, you may be able to enhance the effectiveness of other treatments, or even reduce your reliance on medication.

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Ready to Breathe Better—and Live Better?

Explore our breathing programme to take control of your cardiovascular health, naturally.