Constantly high blood pressure has several names in medicine: hypertension, arterial hypertension, essential hypertension.The disease can cause kidney, heart, blood vessel damage, stroke, heart attack, bleeding from stomach ulcers and other serious consequences.In order to prevent dangerous health conditions, it is necessary to take timely measures to prevent the disease and to know the risk factors that greatly increase the likelihood of high blood pressure.
What is high blood pressure
It is a chronic pathology that develops as a result of dysfunction of vascular regulation, renal and neurohumoral mechanisms.Hypertension (HTN) is a dangerous condition of the body in which the blood pressure (BP) rises permanently above 140/90 mmHg.Art.in patients not taking antihypertensive drugs.
Hypertension accounts for approximately 40% of all cardiovascular pathologies.The disease occurs more often in men than in women.The risk of developing pathology increases with age in both sexes.Hypertension is mainly diagnosed after the age of 40, but recently the disease is increasingly being registered in adolescence and young adulthood.
Stages of headache
Hypertension is a chronic pathology that has three stages of development.For an adult, the optimal blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg.Art.A slight deviation from these indicators up to 139/89 mm Hg.Art.also applies to the norm.In medical practice, higher numbers are considered pathology.The diagnosis of "hypertension" is made when indicators above 140/90 are repeatedly recorded under different conditions.
Stage 1 hypertension is characterized by sudden pressure changes.This already indicates a pathological process occurring in the body.In the early stages of the disease, it is almost always asymptomatic.The patient does not pay attention to some signs of high blood pressure, which explains the high percentage of late requests for professional help.Symptoms of stage 1 hypertension:
- blood pressure indicators: from 140/90 to 159/99 mmHg.Art.;
- headache;
- confusion;
- reduced mental performance;
- shortness of breath;
- tachycardia;
- increased swelling;
- fluid retention in the body;
- changes in the amount and color of urine.
Second-stage hypertension is arterial high blood pressure that occurs in a moderate form.At this stage of the disease, increased blood pressure can be observed for a longer period of time than at the beginning.Blood pressure values in stage 2 hypertension rarely return to normal.The patient's condition:
- blood pressure indicators: 160/109-179/109 mmHg.Art.;
- sleep disorder;
- discomfort in the area of the heart;
- heart failure;
- memory and vision impairment;
- constant irritability;
- dizziness;
- tinnitus;
- aching pain in back of head;
- dilated eyes;
- the facial skin is hyperemic;
- swelling of the face and hands.
Third-stage hypertension is the severe form of the disease.It is characterized by the patient's history of heart attack, stroke and other serious pathologies.High blood pressure at this stage can be completely cured in very rare cases, only if the high blood pressure is short-lived or secondary.Severe hypertension clinic:
- blood pressure indicators: from 180/110 mmHg.Art.and above;
- left ventricular hypertrophy;
- hypertrophy of the interventricular septum;
- movement coordination disorder;
- encephalopathy;
- ischemic or hemorrhagic infarctions;
- various kidney changes;
- permanent visual impairment;
- prolonged hypertensive crises;
- paralysis and paresis due to cerebral circulation disorders;
- limiting the ability to move independently and take care of oneself.
Risk factors for high blood pressure
The development, progression and complications of arterial hypertension are directly related to the presence of factors that threaten the development of the pathological process.Hypertension is the result of a complex interaction of internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous) causes.The occurrence of pathology is facilitated by the acquired and innate characteristics of the organism, which weaken its resistance to adverse external conditions.
Risk factors for the development of arterial hypertension are classified according to two indicators: modifiable and non-modifiable.The first depends on one's choices and lifestyle.These are:
- bad habits;
- physical inactivity;
- smoking;
- alcohol consumption;
- obesity and others.
The immutable risk factors for high blood pressure are those that a person cannot influence: heredity and physiology (gender, age).In many cases, high blood pressure is a genetic disease.If one of your relatives has suffered from high blood pressure, there is a high probability that the next generation will be affected by the disease.As for physiological factors, according to statistics, middle-aged men are more susceptible to the disease.This can be explained by the fact that the female body produces estrogens - hormones that perform a protective function.
Endogenous
Intrinsic risk factors for high blood pressure are the presence of diseases or conditions that cause high blood pressure.Among them:
- diabetes mellitus;
- atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries of the heart;
- increased blood viscosity;
- metabolic disorder;
- kidney disease (pyelonephritis, nephritis, glomerulonephritis);
- increased concentration of sodium or calcium in the blood;
- the effect of adrenaline under stress;
- dyslipidemia (fat metabolism disorder);
- increased uric acid content;
- neurocirculatory dystonia;
- pregnancy;
- age of change.
It is related to lifestyle and environmental influences
Exogenous risk factors for high blood pressure are related to the patient's lifestyle.The number of acquired causes that can be successfully overcome is significant, but all points can be easily modified if someone so wishes.The main exogenous risk factors for high blood pressure are:
- Insufficient physical activity.Constant office work, traveling exclusively by vehicle, lack of time to visit the gym lead to a weakening of the respiratory system, damage to muscle function, and deterioration of blood circulation.All these factors provoke an increase in blood pressure.
- Uncontrolled salt intake.Sodium chloride in large quantities causes thirst and delays the removal of fluid from the body.Water causes an increase in the volume of circulating blood, as a result of which heart muscle contractions become more frequent, which leads to an increase in blood pressure.The consumption rate of table salt does not exceed 5 g/day.
- Magnesium and/or potassium deficiency.The body needs these microelements for the proper functioning of blood vessels and the heart muscle.If these are deficient, there is a risk of developing high blood pressure.
Diagnostics
High blood pressure is determined by different methods - blood pressure is measured several times with a tonometer and phonendoscope, the clinical picture of the disease is studied, and clinical, physical and instrumental tests are prescribed.The main diagnostic methods:
- Biochemical blood test.They detect high/low density lipoproteins and cholesterol levels and determine sugar levels.These indicators are important for determining the cause of high blood pressure.
- EKG.The electrocardiogram has long been a reliable assistant in the diagnosis of hypertension.The EKG reveals interruptions in the work of the heart, determines the presence of angina, and provides data on the displacement of the heart from its electrical axis and the condition of the heart muscle.
- Ultrasound of the heart.The main vessels leading to the brain (carotid arteries) are illuminated to detect atherosclerotic plaques, to assess the condition of the vessel walls and the risk of stroke.
- Arteriography.X-ray method for studying the wall and lumen of arteries.
- Dopplerography.Ultrasound technique for diagnosing blood flow in veins, arteries and blood vessels.
- Ultrasound of the kidneys.It helps identify large tumors in the adrenal glands and changes in kidney tissue that lead to the development of renoparenchymal hypertension.
- Ultrasound of the thyroid gland.It helps identify or exclude the influence of the thyroid gland on the development of high blood pressure in the patient.
Treatment
Treatment of high blood pressure depends on the cause of the disease.The first thing a patient should do is to eliminate all the risks associated with high blood pressure.Then drug therapy is combined with non-drug methods: adherence to an anti-cholesterol diet, physical activity, smoking cessation, and consumption of alcoholic beverages.Drug treatment is carried out according to different schemes:
- Patients at low or moderate risk of developing high blood pressure are prescribed a drug to lower their blood pressure.
- Patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease are prescribed two or more drugs at individual doses.
Medicines and dosage are selected by the doctor, taking into account the patient's age, concomitant pathologies and risk factors.Several groups of drugs are used to treat high blood pressure:
- Thiazide diuretics.They inhibit the absorption of chlorides and sodium in the kidney tubules, so they do not enter the blood, but are excreted from the body in the urine.
- Calcium channel blockers.They reduce calcium intake, which reduces the load on the heart muscle and lowers blood pressure.
- ACE inhibitors.They reduce the concentration of the hormone angiotensin in the blood, which can narrow the lumen of blood vessels, which increases blood pressure.
- Angiotensin II receptor antagonists.It lowers blood pressure in the first stage of high blood pressure.
- Beta blockers.They relax the vessel walls, which improves blood circulation and normalizes blood pressure.
- Central alpha-2 agonists.The heart rate decreases, which is manifested in a decrease in blood pressure.
- Direct vasodilators.It relaxes the smooth muscles of the arterioles, which causes a drop in blood pressure.
- Renin inhibitors.They promote the dilation of arteries and inhibit the activity of renin, an enzyme with a vasoconstricting effect.