If you have been diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure), whether mild or severe, making changes to your diet was likely the first suggestion from your doctor. Mild hypertension can be greatly improved using a nutritional approach. Severe hypertension can also be helped through an altered diet, with the additional benefit of an overall improvement in well-being.

Cayenne, or Capsicum, is widely regarded as the most effective herbal remedy for circulation problems. It can help to stimulate your heart, strengthen your arteries, and regulate blood flow. You can mix it with water, take it as a capsule, or use it as a ground red pepper seasoning on your food.

For a small number of patients, the medications aren't enough, and other treatments may be necessary. Angioplasty, stent placement, or clot-removal treatments are nonsurgical and are performed by making a small cut through which a catheter is inserted to reach the blocked artery. A tiny balloon is inflated inside the artery to open the clog.

High blood pressure and/or cholesterol-lowering medications should be taken as directed, because not following directions increases your risk for PAD, as well as heart attack and stroke.

Peripheral Artery Disease (“PAD”), also known as Peripheral Vascular Disease, often has no symptoms. People who experience symptoms often mistake them for something else, like a back or muscle problem. The most common symptom is painful cramping in the hips, thighs, or calves while walking, climbing stairs, or exercising. This is because the muscles are not getting enough blood flow due to plaque buildup, creating a blockage in the arteries. The pain usually subsides after the person stops exercising.

If you're at all familiar with herbs, then you probably are already well aware of ginkgo biloba. It's been widely touted as a great herbal remedy to give your memory a boost. That same mechanism that may help boost your brain function, makes ginkgo an excellent herb for those suffering with congestive heart failure.

While hawthorn is legendary in its ability to help the heart, another plant has also been used throughout the ages is coleus. A licensed herbalist can tell you that coleus works because it contains foskolin, which is a substance that helps to dilate blood vessels. It's that very ability that improves the pumping action of the heart.

Science is now confirming what herbalists have known for thousands of years: hawthorn can indeed be beneficial for those in the early stages of congestive heart failure.

At the same time you're limiting your salt, increase your use of monounsaturated oils. These types of oils include extra virgin olive oil. Be sure to eat more foods higher in the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. Salmon, tuna and other seafood are great sources of these oils.