Hypertension: symptoms, causes, treatment.How dangerous is this disease?

Hypertension (arterial hypertension) is high blood pressure that develops when blood circulation in the vessels is impaired.The disease is diagnosed in a wide range of adults and occurs with varying degrees of severity.Why is hypertension dangerous, how to prevent the development of the disease and negative consequences - see more in the article.

Concepts and causes

Hypertension or arterial hypertension is the name given to the condition of increased blood pressure that occurs due to changes in vascular tone.The disease usually affects both men and women, mainly after age 40, but also occurs in younger people.Hypertension is a fairly common disease, occurring in 40% of adults.This is also one of the leading causes of death and disability due to cardiovascular diseases.

The main causes of high blood pressure are believed to be:

• atherosclerosis – age-related changes in blood vessels and their blockage with atherosclerotic plaques;
• Being overweight even in a small amount can affect the condition of blood vessels and the heart, causing increased blood pressure;
• emotional stress, experiencing tragic situations, depression;
• nervous tension, problems at work;
• head injury, concussion, hypothermia;
• genetic predisposition - hypertension can manifest itself at a young age;
• some viral diseases (sinusitis, meningitis);
• menopause in women - hormonal changes in the body contribute to the manifestation of underlying diseases, against the background of which hypertension develops;
• sharp increase in adrenaline in the blood;
• stay for a long time in front of the computer screen;
• sedentary and sedentary lifestyle;
• eat salt in large quantities;
• rarely exposed to fresh air;
• drink large amounts of coffee;
• bad habits.

Symptom

The main symptom is high blood pressure - 140/90 mmHg.Art.and higher.It often comes with other symptoms.In the early stages, they are neurological in nature and manifest:

• headache;
• tinnitus;
• flying “flies” in front of the eyes or blurred vision;
• impaired sleep quality;
• dizzy;
• feeling of heaviness in the head;
• fast heart rate;
• general weakness.

Further development of the disease leads to the following manifestations:

• nosebleeds;
• vomiting;
• Even if you try just a little, your face will turn red;
• feeling of pressure on the eyes - often causes the patient to lie down with their eyes closed and wait for the attack to pass;
• swelling;
• memory loss;
• feeling tired;
• potency problems (in men).

Stages and classification

Doctors identify 3 stages of arterial hypertension:

1. Pressure gradually increased to 140/90 – 159/100 mm Hg.Art.It then independently returns to normal levels.Usually, at this stage, a person does not know about the disease.It can only be detected by continuously measuring the pressure and charting it based on these readings.In the early stages, complications are often not observed, but there is still a risk of developing them.Increased pressure leads to insufficient blood supply to the organs, which can then lead to necrosis and stroke.The body's metabolism is disrupted.Vasoconstriction leads to overstress of the heart and myocardial hypertrophy.
2. Pressure may increase to 160/100 – 179/109 mm Hg.Art.and now won't return to normal levels without medication.In the second stage, accompanying symptoms begin to appear.The risk of developing complications increases;it is rated as medium (risk 2) and high (risk 3).This means that the risk of target organ damage in the next 10 years is 20-30%.
3. Pressure increases to 180/110 or more and remains consistently high.At this stage, an independent decrease in pressure may indicate malfunctions in heart function.Patients are acutely aware of the symptoms, which prompts them to seek medical help immediately.At this stage, all organs and internal systems are damaged.In advanced cases, it ends in death.Typically, stage 3 arterial hypertension requires emergency hospitalization and the use of physical therapy measures in addition to medication.At this stage, taking the medication becomes stable and is not canceled even if the condition improves.

In stages 2 and 3 of hypertension, hypertensive crisis often occurs.

Depending on the cause, there are:

• primary hypertension – when arterial hypertension develops as an independent disease;
• secondary hypertension – when high blood pressure is the result of another disease and requires treatment of the primary disease as well.

There are 4 levels of severity of hypertension:

• light or soft;
• reasonable;
• severe, chronic;
• very heavy.

According to the clinical course, they are distinguished:

• Benign hypertension - pressure does not increase to a critical level, hypertensive crisis and damage to target organs are rarely observed, treatment has favorable results.
• malignant hypertension - the first manifestations are observed at a young age, are often accompanied by hypertensive attacks and complications and are difficult to control with medication.

Diagnose

For diagnosis, several laboratory and instrumental tests are performed.Based on them, the doctor makes conclusions about the degree of hypertension and the stage of the disease:

1. The first and most important step in making a diagnosis is measuring blood pressure.You can do it yourself using a tonometer.In some cases, doctors recommend daily pressure change monitoring, known as the ABPM method.The patient wears a special cuff on the shoulder and a handheld device on the waist.During the day, the device measures pressure every 15 minutes, at night - every 30 minutes.Diagnosis is carried out under normal human conditions.
2. Blood and urine tests.Based on their results, the doctor evaluates the levels of cholesterol, hemoglobin, hematocrit, glucose, creatinine, potassium and calcium.
3. Next, the condition of target organs is assessed:
• Physical examination.Noises are heard, arrhythmias are checked, and the myocardium is examined.
• ECG.An electrocardiogram is performed as a supplement to a physical examination to more accurately assess the condition of the heart.
• Dopplerography.It is performed to evaluate the patency of blood vessels.
• Angiography.X-ray method to evaluate the condition of the arteries, defects in the artery walls and the presence of atherosclerotic plaques.
• Check the back of the eye.In the early stages of hypertension, the arteries will narrow and the veins in the retina will dilate.In the second stage, the aneurysm becomes noticeable and bleeding may occur.In the third stage, vision decreases and the condition of the optic nerve gets worse.
• Ultrasound diagnosis of kidneys and adrenal glands.Kidney tissue damage due to hypertension was detected.

Treatment and prevention

Based on the diagnostic results, the doctor will choose an individual drug treatment for each patient.In the early stages, lifestyle and weight adjustments are enough.Second, you cannot do without medicine.In the third stage, a combination of drugs is selected and comorbidities are also treated.

Drug treatment

Hypertension is often treated by prescribing:

• Thiazide diuretics – by removing fluid from the body, thereby reducing blood pressure.
• Sartans (angiotensin II receptor blockers) are new generation drugs that reduce blood pressure throughout the day and require a single dose in the morning or evening.
• Calcium antagonists - should be used for accompanying cardiac disorders (arrhythmia, angina, cerebral atherosclerosis).
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors - dilate blood vessels and arteries, preventing their spasm.
• Beta blockers - normalize tachycardia, which occurs as a response to increased blood pressure.
• Alpha-adrenergic receptor blockers - used to dilate peripheral blood vessels;The drug has mild effects.

All medications have side effects, so self-medication is unacceptable.

Life style

Treating hypertension is impossible without lifestyle changes.First of all we advise:

• get rid of bad habits;
• Avoid stress and emotional tension;
• Avoid excessive physical activity in the gym;
• Priority should be given to jogging, swimming, gymnastics, walking and cardiovascular exercise;
• increase rest time, pay attention to sleep quality;
• Spend more time in the fresh air (long walks in the park, afforestation, near water bodies will help).

Traditional method

Folk remedies are widely used in the treatment of hypertension.But you should not forget that you need to adhere to a healthy lifestyle, the doctor's recommendations and use them as additional measures (not as a replacement for drug treatment).

Traditional treatment should be used for quite a long time.The effect can be expected after several courses lasting 2-3 months with a break between courses of 10 days.

The best recipes and traditional methods for treating hypertension:

• Recipe 1. You need to take: 250 g of honey (preferably floral honey), 1 lemon, 2 glasses of beetroot juice, 1.5 glasses of cranberry juice, 1 glass of vodka.Mix all ingredients.Take one tablespoon on an empty stomach.
• Recipe 2. To prepare the infusion you will need: juice from 3 kg of onions, 0.5 kg of honey, divided by 30 nuts, 0.5 liters of vodka.Mix onion juice and add nut partitions with honey and pour vodka.Leave for 10 days.Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day.
• Recipe 3. A mixture of 0.5 cups of chopped radish and the same amount of honey.Take a 3-month course of 1 tablespoon before meals 3 times a day.
• Mom.It has a calming effect on the nervous system and relaxes blood vessel walls.The plant is brewed and drunk as tea.
• Mint.Helps cope with nervous tension.The leaves of the plant are added to tea.
• Chokeberry is widely used to treat hypertension.You can use its fruit to make jelly, juice, syrup, jam and prepare fruit drinks.You can take juice from fruits 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
• Traditional medicine recommends using bee venom to normalize blood pressure.To do this, bees sting the limbs 2 times a week.Bee venom dilates blood vessels, prevents spasms in them and has diuretic properties.

People often have allergic reactions to bee venom or honey.In case of any unwanted reactions, the use of folk remedies containing these components is contraindicated.

Folk remedies have sedative, diuretic, sedative, and antispasmodic effects.They contain many vitamins and trace elements, acids, which have a beneficial effect on the body and promote the healing process of high blood pressure.

Diet

In addition to the above measures, proper and balanced nutrition plays an important role.Hypertensive patients should eliminate foods containing bad cholesterol from their diet:

• fatty meat;
• Hello;
• smoked meat;
• pickles;
• fried foods;
• freshly baked bread.

Among the products necessary for the body when suffering from hypertension are:

• vegetable;
• fruit;
• berries;
• green;
• dairy products;
• legumes;
• lean meat, dietary grade;
• cereal

Products that need to limit consumption:

• Salt, it is better to buy salt with reduced sodium content.And if possible, replace it with lemon juice, cranberries, cinnamon, cilantro or dill.
• Liquid.The volume of liquid consumed per day should not exceed 1 liter.This includes not only water but also juice, soup, milk and tea.
• Caffeinated beverages.The goal is to reduce the stimulant effect on the cardiovascular system.
• Animal fat.It is allowed to consume up to 25 g per day.
• Road.Limit to 40g per day.Excess contributes to the development of atherosclerosis.
• Bread.Crackers or bread should be used a few days in advance.

prevent

People exposed to risk factors for developing the disease should:

• adhere to a healthy lifestyle;
• follow the recommended diet consistently;
• Use multivitamin preparations containing iron;
• regularly measure your own blood pressure;
• See your doctor regularly.

You can learn about what hypertension is, the causes of its development, possible complications and how to control pressure with folk remedies, etc.from the following video:

complications

High blood pressure is dangerous because it can cause diseases that lead to disability and death.

Often, a hypertensive crisis develops.This is a sharp increase in pressure, which is accompanied by a deterioration in the patient's health.Causes of a hypertensive crisis can be:

• strong psycho-emotional stress;
• drinking alcohol in large quantities at one time;
• discontinuation of antihypertensive medication or inadequate treatment;
• eat salt;
• meteorological factors.

During a hypertensive crisis, the patient has the following symptoms:

• airless;
• fear, anxiety;
• fast heart rate;
• cold sweat;
• "goosebumps";
• shaking hands and internal tremors;
• redness of the skin on the face;
• dizzy;
• nausea and vomiting;
• numbness of lips and tongue;
• lisp;
• signs of heart failure (in complicated cases).

In the event of a hypertensive crisis, the patient requires emergency medical care in a hospital.

In addition, depending on the organ affected by lack of blood circulation, the following diseases may develop:

• heart failure;
• kidney failure;
• coronary insufficiency;
• hemorrhage, stroke;
• myocardial infarction;
• thrombosis;
• deterioration and loss of vision;
• decreased sensitivity in the limbs or paralysis.

Hypertension in the early stages can be completely cured.Then, as in the latter case, it leads to serious complications and even death.Therefore, at the first manifestations of the disease, you need to consult a doctor and not neglect treatment and prevention methods.