Hypertension, a significant public health problem worldwide, is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases [1]. If not treated, it causes various unwanted outcomes such as heart and kidney failure and stroke. Additionally, hypertension is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular mortality, constituting 20–50 % of all deaths caused by cardiovascular factors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data, hypertension is a significant chronic illness, with more than 1.13 billion patients worldwide reported in 2015 [2]. The prevalence of hypertension in the study conducted by Kılıçkap et al. in Turkey was 29.9 % [3]. In recent years, people's interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased in parallel with the increasing prevalence of hypertension. The use of CAM methods among hypertensive patients is increasing, and this rate has been reported in the literature to vary between 12.8 % and 85.7 % [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7].

In addition to the increase in the incidence of chronic diseases, individuals with chronic diseases face a complex treatment, self-care, and disease management process, and they may turn to various CAM methods such as yoga, acupuncture, acupressure, aromatherapy, dietary supplements, prayer, music therapy, and herbal and respiratory therapies in the treatment of diseases and the relief of symptoms [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13]. It was reported that the reasons for using CAM include the desire to live a healthier and longer life, avoiding the side effects believed to occur due to medical treatments, the thought that medical treatment will be insufficient, making the immune system stronger, and promoting healthy behaviors [12], [14]. Additionally, the values and beliefs of individuals about religious issues are among the main factors affecting their use of CAM [14], [15], [16]. CAM methods are also commonly used in patients with hypertension to control blood pressure [15]. Herbal medicines and dietary supplements are among the most widely used CAM methods for the treatment of hypertension [1], [7]. Toprak et al. reported that 63.9 % of patients preferred complementary treatment when a deviation was observed in their normal blood pressure values [18]. Furthermore, other studies have revealed that in parallel with the increasing prevalence of hypertension, the interest in CAM has increased gradually in patients [15], [19], [20].

The number of patients with hypertension is increasing gradually due to both the increasing life expectancy of individuals and the increase in the emergence of chronic illnesses [21]. Adherence to drug therapy, regular blood pressure checking, and appropriate lifestyle changes are necessary for success in hypertension management. When patients confront any health problem, they use CAM methods in addition to modern medicine methods to eliminate the problem [13], [16], [21]. In recent years, many different CAM methods have been used in addition to medical drugs worldwide [14], [20]. While the use of CAM is increasing, patients do not receive counseling from health professionals about the methods they use, and their knowledge about CAM is mainly limited to what they hear from the media and the people around them [19], [20], [22]. In line with this information, many individuals with hypertension seek to use CAM methods to achieve desired treatment goals or better clinical outcomes. This situation may lead to patients being exposed to undesirable outcomes by individuals or institutions that are not qualified in the field of healthcare [11]. Therefore, it is important for healthcare professionals to question the CAM usage status of hypertension patients, the methods they use, and the reasons for their use to examine their disease management status. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the attitudes of hypertension patients toward holistic, complementary, and alternative medicine.