New blood pressure guidelines have recently been published.  The new standard is 130/80, a significant decrease from the old standard of 140/90.  The good news is that medical professionals are recommending lifestyle modifications in an effort to reduce and control blood pressure before trying medications.  Healthy lifestyle habits include stress reduction, a healthy diet with less sodium and increased potassium (essentially more fruits/vegetables and less salt/processed foods), exercising regularly and getting enough sleep.

Where does acupuncture fit in?  Acupuncture is great for stress reduction and for improving sleep quality (reducing frequency/severity of insomnia and restless sleep).  There are also certain acupuncture points which can help directly with reducing blood pressure.  A weekly acupuncture treatment is a great way to reduce and maintain healthier blood pressure levels.

Here are several articles about the new blood pressure guidelines:
ABC
CNN
MASS LIVE
NPR