Science: What you need to know about hypertension and hyperlipidemia

  According to statistics, there are as many as 37 million patients with hypertension combined with dyslipidemia among people over 35 years old in China. Hypertension and hyperlipidemia are not only both risk factors for coronary heart disease, but they are also closely related to each other. Many patients with hypertension have disorders of lipid metabolism. The increased pressure of blood flow during hypertension hits and tears the inner lining of blood vessels, causing the inner lining to break down, creating an opportunity for lipids to enter the vessel wall and accumulate, leading to elevated lipids. Similarly, high blood lipids can aggravate hypertension, firstly, because of the increase in blood lipids, excess lipids enter the vascular wall and accumulate to form atherosclerosis, which in turn blocks the blood vessels, narrowing the lumen, increasing the resistance to blood flow and raising blood pressure. Both are more likely to occur in obese people; people who are addicted to high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar diet, or addicted to tobacco and alcohol; people with irregular life, high stress and mental tension; people with family history of hypertension or hyperlipidemia; and people with diabetes.  Since this is the case, what should be done to control hypertension and hyperlipidemia? First of all, we should strengthen life and diet management, control calorie intake, maintain a low-salt, low-sugar, low-fat diet, eat more fruits, vegetables, soybean products and fish, increase exercise appropriately, control weight, and also stay away from smoking and alcohol, maintain a regular state of life and an optimistic and calm state of mind. When using antihypertensive drugs, hypertensive patients should use drugs that have no adverse effects on lipid metabolism, so as not to cause abnormal elevation of blood lipids and contribute to the formation of atherosclerosis. Patients with hyperlipidemia should take lipid-lowering drugs as early as possible to control their condition.