What are the dangers of hypertension?
Hypertension is a common and frequent disease that causes damage to the heart, brain, kidneys and other organs. Cardiovascular disease is now the number one threat to human health, and now accounts for the first cause of human death. And 50% of the world’s cardiovascular disease is caused by hypertension. Stroke caused by hypertension is the third cause of death in the world, and the second leading cause of death in China after cardiovascular disease, with about 1.65 million people dying of stroke in China every year. The average natural course of hypertension is about 19 years, which is 20 years longer than the average life expectancy of people with normal blood pressure. China has more than 160 million people suffering from hypertension, and presents “three high” and “three low”, namely “high prevalence, high mortality, high disability rate and low awareness rate, low medication rate, low effective control rate “The rate of awareness, medication and effective control is low. For these reasons, it is urgent to popularize the knowledge of hypertension prevention and treatment in China. Liu Linqiang, Department of Cardiology, Pingdu City People’s Hospital
What are the causes of hypertension disease?
There are many causes of hypertension, including excessive mental stress, poor lifestyle, environmental factors and genetic factors, and studies have shown that it is related to human walking upright. The following points are worth noting in real life: (1) Alcohol: is the main causative factor of hypertension in China. Chinese wine culture has a long history, but wine exquisite hypertension is the greatest harm, even if you drink very little wine, regardless of liquor, beer, wine, especially those who only drink without eating the incidence of hypertension is higher; (2) MSG: salt eat more high blood pressure everyone may know, in fact, MSG is the same. Especially people over 60 years old are particularly sensitive to sodium; (3) blood lead content: one of the causes of hypertension in children; (4) painkillers: often take anti-inflammatory analgesics patients should pay attention to; (5) less sleep: people who have to work overtime hypertension may be the only reason; (6) bad psychology; due to a bad psychological state, it is very easy to produce psychological imbalance. Apparently excessive psychological stress often causes excessive sympathetic excitation, causing tachycardia and fire. Over time, blood pressure will rise; (7) cold weather: in general, cold winter can be higher than the hot summer blood pressure of about 12/6 mm Hg. For every 1°C decrease in temperature, systolic blood pressure rises by 1.3 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure rises by 0.6 mm Hg. Therefore, hypertensive patients should pay more attention to their blood pressure in winter and pay attention to keeping warm and increasing the dosage of antihypertensive drugs appropriately.
How to measure blood pressure correctly?
Not within the same day, but at the same time each day, make 2~3 measurements with the same sphygmomanometer and take the average of 3 blood pressure readings. When measuring blood pressure, you should also position yourself (e.g. in a sitting or lying position). If the factors that cause a transient increase in blood pressure are excluded, and the measured blood pressure value is above 140/90 mm Hg each time, then it is hypertension. Before taking your own blood pressure at home, you should sit still for 10 minutes, do not take your blood pressure immediately after a meal, do not smoke for 15 minutes, do not drink tea or coffee or alcohol for half an hour, and do not stay up late on the first night of measurement. The sphygmomanometer chosen should be up to standard. A sitting position is usually adopted, keeping the sphygmomanometer at the same level as the right atrium. The cuff should be tightened so that it fits into one finger. If your arms are too large, the blood pressure value measured with an ordinary cuff will be high, so you can use a special blood pressure cuff for fat people.
What is the danger of nosebleeds in elderly people with hypertension?
Nasal bleeding in middle-aged and elderly people is mainly related to vascular sclerosis and hypertension, long-term hypertension also makes the nasal veins in a state of stasis and dilation, when the blood pressure rises before the cerebral vessels rupture, some of the blood vessels in the nasal cavity will rupture and nosebleeds occur. Therefore, if a hypertensive patient has nasal bleeding, it indicates that his blood pressure is unstable and he should be on high alert, which is often a precursor of brain hemorrhage and stroke.
Why is it more dangerous to have elevated blood pressure in the morning?
Early morning cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease cases account for about 70% to 80% of all day cases. Therefore, people with elevated blood pressure in the morning are more dangerous. In clinical practice, it is also found that
Is there no need to treat hypertension because there are no symptoms?
No, about 50% of early hypertension patients do not have any symptoms, the potential danger of such hypertension is greater, because people with symptoms will seek medical attention in a timely manner, which helps to control the disease; while people without symptoms, often neglect treatment. However, the harm caused by high blood pressure does not disappear because of the presence or absence of symptoms, many people do not go to treatment until after the emergence of heart failure, cerebral hemorrhage, myocardial infarction and other serious complications, it is too late to regret. Therefore, as soon as the diagnosis of hypertension is made, it should be treated seriously.
Is it enough to lower blood pressure to 140/90 mmHg?
Not true. Everyone may know that normal blood pressure should be lower than 140/90 mmHg, but the latest foreign research data show that for people aged 40 to 70 years, blood pressure in the range of 115/75 to 185/115 mmHg, for every 20 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure or 10 mmHg increase in diastolic blood pressure, the risk of cardiovascular disease will increase by a factor of 1. The higher the blood pressure, the greater the risk of future myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and kidney disease. It is currently advocated that blood pressure should be as low as possible within the ideal range, which, of course, should be tolerated by the patient without any signs of discomfort. One should try to keep the blood pressure below 135/85 mm Hg. In patients with combined diabetes and kidney disease, the blood pressure level should be below 130/80 mm Hg or less, which helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events and delays the deterioration of kidney function.
Which hand should be used more often in patients with hypertension?
Patients with hypertension should use their left hand more often. Cerebral hemorrhage in hypertensive patients is a condition with a very high mortality rate. More than 60% of stroke patients with cerebrovascular rupture and bleeding are caused by rupture of microvessels in the right cerebral hemisphere. Analysis suggests that this is related to people’s habit of using their right hand. Because people who often use their right hand get exercise in the left cerebral hemisphere, they are less likely to rupture and bleed. It has been observed that about 90% of cerebral hemorrhage occurs in the middle-aged and elderly population aged 50 to 70 years old who suffer from long-term hypertension. Therefore, experts suggest that all hypertensive patients, especially the elderly, should move their left hand more while actively treating hypertension, and intentionally work with their left hand more often, such as arranging flowers, playing ball, writing, painting, etc., so that the right brain can be developed and play a role in preventing cerebral hemorrhage. In addition, to develop a good habit of regular bowel movements, to prevent constipation caused by excessive abdominal pressure during defecation, the drug itself also increased blood pressure. Usually try to avoid sudden bending, head down, lifting heavy objects to prevent sudden cerebral blood flow pressure from being too high and promoting cerebral hemorrhage.
What should I pay attention to when measuring blood pressure?
Blood pressure should be measured with a suitable blood pressure monitor and the correct measurement method. The following aspects should be noted when measuring blood pressure: (1) Sitting still for more than 15 minutes before measurement, and giving the necessary explanation to eliminate the fear and anxiety of the person being measured. If “white coat hypertension” is suspected, ambulatory blood pressure testing can be recommended to clarify the diagnosis. (2) The posture of the person being tested is generally slightly higher in the lying position than in the sitting or standing position, but as long as the arm is at the same height as the heart, the blood pressure will not change too much. The sitting position is usually used for blood pressure measurement. Some antihypertensive drugs can cause postural hypotension, and it is advisable to measure it in the prone and standing positions separately. (3) The arm being measured should be supported so that the limb is completely relaxed so as not to affect the accuracy of the blood pressure. (4) The arm of the person being measured must be at the same level as the heart. If the arm is below the level of the heart, the measured blood pressure value is higher than normal; and if the arm is above the level of the heart, the blood pressure level will be underestimated. This error can be more than 10 mm Hg. (5) The sleeves should not be too tight, otherwise they can be taken off. (6) Avoid eating and smoking half an hour before the examination; you must void when you have the urge to urinate; do not talk during the pressure measurement. (7) The blood pressure of the left and right arm should be measured at the first visit and recorded. In the future, the blood pressure of the upper arm on the higher side can be measured fixed, and if the difference between the blood pressure of the two sides is not significant, the blood pressure of the right arm can be measured fixed for practical work convenience. At least three different days of occasional blood pressure exceeds normal, before it is recognized as hypertension.
How to buy a suitable sphygmomanometer?
Commonly used sphygmomanometers are mercury column type, barometer type and electronic sphygmomanometer, which have their own advantages and disadvantages. (1) Mercury column sphygmomanometer. It is based on the pulse tone of the arterial blood vessels combined with the reading of the mercury column in the graduated tube to determine the blood pressure value. Its advantage is that the accuracy and credibility of the measured blood pressure is high; disadvantage is that it is large, heavy, inconvenient to carry, easy to leak mercury, and requires regular calibration. Because it is necessary to listen with a stethoscope, people who are hard of hearing are unable to use it. In addition, the experience of the person measuring the pressure is also important, must be specially trained and have a certain amount of experience. (2) Barometer type sphygmomanometer. Its dial is smaller than a small alarm clock, the operation is also based on the stethoscope to listen to the pulse tone combined with the position of the dial pointer to determine the blood pressure reading. (3) Electronic sphygmomanometer. Easy to use, but the error is large, especially low blood pressure, should pay attention to the correct use of the method.