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Does Kratom Affect Your Blood Pressure?

Doctor checking old man patient arterial blood pressure. Health care.

When you get stressed or need something to keep you awake through the night, you rely on coffee. But more often than not, it makes you giddy and happens to raise your blood pressure. This is not good for your health. Too much coffee intake will increase your heart rate and, in extreme cases, cause you to hyperventilate.

But what if there is an alternative. Kratom is a plant that belongs to the coffee family but instead calms you down. In addition to keeping you awake and motivated, it will also give you a good night’s sleep after you are done. But how does it affect your blood pressure? Read on to find out!

What Is High Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure is measured using two numbers:

The first number, called systolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The second number, called diastolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats. If the measurement reads 120 systolic and 80 diastolic, you would say, “120 over 80,” or write, “120/80”.

High blood pressure is also commonly coined ‘hypertension,’ and sufferers are always looking for ways to reduce their blood pressure. The primary reason why hypertension is much more severe than hypotension is that it can lead to cardiac arrests. In laymen’s terms, hypertension is the pressure that the blood creates against the walls of your arteries and veins. If the pressure falls below normal, we call it low blood pressure, wherein it will come down to 80/120. Similarly, when this pressure increases, we call it hypertension. This occurs when the blood pressure comes up to 120/90.

The Research Measuring Kratom and Blood Pressure

At this time, virtually no research has been done on how kratom affects blood pressure, heart rate, or other aspects of cardiovascular health. More than likely, the lack of research can be attributed to the fact that kratom still needs to undergo FDA evaluation and authorization.

The sad fact of the matter is that, despite being used for centuries, kratom still hasn’t been sufficiently thoroughly researched by reputable clinical trials. And while many kratom studies are underway, we have a long way to go before kratom’s effects on blood pressure are fully understood.

User Experiences

Kratom works its magic due to its active compounds such as mitragynine and 7-hydroxy mitragynine. These alkaloids have several properties that make them excellent remedies for hypertension. They stimulate the opioid receptors in the cortex to induce relaxation in the body. This relaxation has had users reporting relief and some claim that kratom has lowered their blood pressure.  

On one sub-Reddit, a user posted about kratom and heart rate issues, seeking advice from the kratom community about taking kratom. He wrote, “I’m on the fence about trying kratom. I have SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) that is controlled with medicine. I’m also on Cymbalta for anxiety/depression…I don’t want to feel jittery with a racing heart, but I want the pain relief/euphoric/mood-boosting properties. Which color should I choose and where is a safe place to buy it?”

Responses confirmed this user’s suspicions about kratom affecting those who are prone to fast heart rate with one user recommending red and gold vein kratom strains at a low dose for safest results. He adds, “i’m kind of prone to anxiety and sometimes if I dabble with [kratom] extract my heart rate will jump, but that rarely happens.”

Of course, everyone is different and results vary. Another Redditor wrote, “Saw some of the top cardiologists in the country. They had me wear a monitoring device and I wrote down days and times when I burned kratom. Comparing the results showed some heart rate increases, but nothing abnormal at all. Turned out my heart issue was a very minor thing I was born with and doesn’t impact my health at all. Just feel weird. But it was awesome to rule out kratom.”

The Best Kratom Strain For High Blood Pressure

Just as there are many variants of every other plant, kratom also has several variants. Most found in Thailand and India, you will find several ways they differ from each other. The color, potency, and effects of every variant are different. However, it is made that way; the processing part of kratom leads to different effects. Therefore certain strains will be a better option for users with high blood pressure.

Red maeng da is an amalgamation of white and red veins in the leaf that creates a calm and soothing effect in the brain. When you buy premium red maeng da kratom, it gives a sense of tranquillity and also creates balance. Hence you will get a mild yet steady feeling of high.  It has been shown to decrease anxiety and stress. It has also been shown to briefly relieve pain and muscle aches.