Similia Vol 30 No 1 – June 2018

Author: Dr Parth Aphale

Abstract

Background

The increasing prevalence of hypertension heralds non-communicable lifestyle disorders such as cardiovascular diseases. Addressing fresh cases in  young people will be a significant strategy in upcoming years in the medical and pharmaceutical world. The ever increasing cost of treatment in  conventional medicine brings enormous economic burden. Homeopathy is proving to be safe and cost effective in conjunction with modern medicine  in the treatment of lifestyle diseases like Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension.

Aim

To evaluate the efficacy of Amyl nitrosum and Rauwolfia serpentina mother tincture in cases of hypertension.

Material and methods

It was a randomised non-blind open study wherein 30 subjects were selected for the study. Each subject was given 20 drops of the study drug diluted  in 30 ml water three times daily. Patients who were intolerant to the study drug were instructed to start with 10 drops of the study drug diluted with  30 ml water twice daily and to increase the dose to 15–20 drops. The subjects were clinically assessed every week and their blood pressure (BP)  readings were recorded. Investigations were done at baseline and after every one month of treatment or completion of the study period. During the  six-month study, all data were measured and analysed at entry; after three months; and after six months of the study by the outcome assessor.

Results

At the end of the study, significant reduction in blood pressure from baseline was seen with minimal adverse events. Both treatments were generally  well tolerated. Amyl nitrosum was seen to be efficient in cases with high systolic blood pressure whereas Rauwolfia serpentina was found effective in  cases with high diastolic blood pressure.

Keywords: Hypertension, non-communicable lifestyle disorders, complementary & alternative medicine, homeopathy, randomised non-blinded open study, systolic and diastolic blood pressure.