Hypertension is one of the most common cardiac pathologies, which is currently diagnosed in one in three inhabitants of our planet over 45 years of age.In recent years, the disease has become significantly younger and now quite often among hypertensive patients you can find very young people with high blood pressure.The main danger of the pathological condition lies in its complications.Hypertension can lead to heart attack and stroke, cause rupture of aneurysms of large vessels, provoke the development of severe impairment of kidney function and a sharp deterioration in the quality of vision.
A person's blood pressure has a higher value, cardiac or systolic, as well as diastolic pressure, or its lower level, kidney.According to WHO standards, the norm for these indicators should not be higher than 139/89 mmHg.Art., otherwise it is customary to talk about hypertension.Early diagnosis and timely treatment of hypertension is a person's opportunity to prevent the appearance of pathological changes in many internal organs, which will allow him to maintain health and enjoy a full life for many years.
Reasons
Unfortunately, modern medical science has not yet been able to fully unravel all the probable causes of hypertension, but doctors know most of them.To identify which factor led to the development of the disease, only an experienced specialist can use not only his knowledge in the diagnostic process, but also the results of numerous studies that confirm or refute the presence of signs of hypertension in a person.
The main reason for increased blood pressure is a violation of the activity of the human sympathetic-adrenal system, that is, constant irritation of the center responsible for the narrowing of blood vessels in the brain.
This can occur under the influence of numerous exo- and endogenous factors that contribute to sudden vasospasm.
Symptoms of hypertension can appear in people with the so-called exogenous risk factors for the development of the pathological condition:
- frequent stress and severe nervous tension;
- poor nutrition;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- long working hours, night shift work;
- regular consumption of large amounts of strong alcoholic beverages and smoking;
- drugs;
- intense sports activities.
Among the endogenous factors, age and poor inheritance stand out, when the disease can be transmitted from parents to children.The development of hypertension is also facilitated by:
- vascular damage due to atherosclerosis;
- obesity;
- metabolic diseases, in particular diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism;
- kidney diseases;
- increased levels of calcium and sodium in the blood;
- Hormonal changes, which are the most common cause of high blood pressure in women during pregnancy and menopause.
Classification
Currently, there is more than one classification of hypertension.The disease is usually distinguished by the nature of its course, the presence of complications, the causes of its development, pressure indicators and much more.
Modern cardiologists distinguish several degrees of hypertension (based on indicators of high blood pressure):
- 1st degree: pressure increases to 159-140/99-90 mm Hg.Art.;
- 2nd degree: on the needles of a mechanical tonometer the indicator is diagnosed as 179-160/109-100 mm Hg.Art.;
- Grade 3: persistent or periodic increase in pressure greater than 180/110 mm Hg.Art.
According to the generally accepted WHO classification, there are the following stages of the disease:
- Stage 1: transient increase in pressure without damage to target organs;
- Stage 2: presence of signs of damage to internal organs, among which the main target is the heart, blood vessels, eye structures, brain and kidneys;
- Stage 3 - a stable increase in blood pressure against the background of the development of complications, from the manifestations of which a person can die.
Hypertensive disease, of course, has its own types, including:
- benign type or indolent variant of hypertension, when the symptoms of the pathology develop very slowly, over decades, and the risk of complications is assessed as minimal;
- a malignant disease in which pressure surges, damage to target organs and frequent hypertensive crises are recorded (this variant of the disease is difficult to treat with medications).
Symptoms
In the initial stages of its development, the disease is practically asymptomatic, which complicates its early detection.In these patients, high blood pressure may be discovered by chance during a medical examination or during a routine clinic appointment.
A more complex type of hypertension is characterized by a number of signs that significantly worsen a person's quality of life and are a reason for referral to specialists.The main symptom of the disease is an increase in blood pressure above 140/90 mm Hg.Art.This condition causes the development of headaches, which are the result of a reflex narrowing of the blood vessels in the brain.As a rule, people prone to hypertension complain of the appearance of pain in the back of the head and temples, which is pulsating in nature, characterized by its severity and sudden development.This pain and palpitations do not go away after taking painkillers.
Often, hypertensive patients experience solitary dizziness, which can occur after performing simple work.The symptom is usually accompanied by nausea and vomiting, as well as general malaise due to increased intracranial pressure.The constriction of the hearing aid vessels causes tinnitus, when a person feels that their ears are very blocked and practically loses the ability to normally perceive sounds in the environment.
Violation of coronary blood flow leads to the development of myocardial ischemia.These patients develop shortness of breath and chest pain, which can be easily corrected with the help of nitrates.At this time, the organ functions in an improved way to be able to push a large amount of blood into the narrowed main vessels.Each attack of angina is accompanied by a rapid pulse, pronounced palpitations and the risk of such a formidable complication of a pathological condition as myocardial infarction.
In case of hypertension, eye dysfunction is determined by a sharp deterioration in vision and the development of hypertensive angiopathy of the retinal vessels.The pathological process also affects the fundus of the eye, which swells and compresses the optic nerve.At this time, the person notices "goosebumps" before his eyes, dark circles and similar things.
Complications of high blood pressure symptoms in women occur most often during menopause, when menopause occurs.During this period, hormonal changes occur in the body of the fairer sex, which disrupts the production of biologically active substances that control normal blood pressure levels.That is why hypertension is the most common consequence of menopause among women.
Complications
HD is one of the insidious diseases that progresses slowly and is very often diagnosed already at the stage of appearance of the first complications of the pathological process.With a constant increase in blood pressure, dystrophic and sclerotic changes occur in the target organs, which causes serious functional impairment.First of all, high blood pressure affects the kidneys, brain, heart, visual analyzer and blood vessels.
There are several risk factors that affect the rate of development of hypertension complications and their severity:
- bad habits, especially smoking;
- sedentary lifestyle and increased body mass index;
- high blood cholesterol and hyperglycemia;
- frequent stress;
- potassium and magnesium deficiency in the body;
- age-related changes;
- hereditary predisposition.
In hypertensive disease, the heart is forced to work under conditions of increased stress, which is associated with the need to push blood into narrowed vessels.Over time, the myocardial wall thickens and the person experiences left ventricular hypertrophy and oxygen starvation of the heart muscle.
From the point of view of the heart, there are several types of complications of hypertension:
- ischemic disease;
- angina pectoris;
- atherosclerosis of coronary vessels;
- acute form of heart failure in the form of myocardial infarction;
- chronic heart failure.
A high level of blood pressure provokes the appearance of brain disorders in a person, which in practice manifest themselves as severe dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, memory loss and more.There are several options for complex brain complications of hypertension:
- encephalopathy with vestibular disorders;
- ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke;
- cognitive impairment of brain activity.
As you know, the kidneys control the amount of water and salt in the body.But when blood pressure rises, they can fully perform their main work.This contributes to a number of complications, including:
- kidney failure;
- dysfunction of fluid filtration and secretion;
- nephrosclerosis.
Such disorders lead to the development of a series of symptoms in hypertensive patients that indicate kidney pathology.A sick person begins to complain of general weakness, malaise, bloating and causeless nausea.
Eye damage is manifested by the appearance of hemorrhages in the retina, swelling of the optic nerve head and progressive loss of vision.On the part of the peripheral vessels in arterial hypertension, the most dangerous complication is the dissection of their walls, in particular, the well-known aortic aneurysm, which forms and is asymptomatic, often causing sudden death.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of hypertension with the establishment of the stage and degree of development of the disease is an important step towards the appointment of adequate treatment for the pathological condition.That is why, when the first signs indicating a hypertensive disease appear, you should immediately contact a medical institution to find out the causes of high blood pressure and methods of correcting it.
The set of diagnostic measures for suspected hypertension includes a number of instrumental and laboratory studies, including:
- laboratory blood test to determine the level of potassium and magnesium, creatinine, bad cholesterol, glucose, etc.;
- biochemical study of urine with determination of the amount of protein;
- electrocardiography (ECG);
- ultrasound examination of the heart;
- Doppler flowmetry;
- fundus examination.
The hypertension diagnostic procedure, which allows us to determine the degree of deterioration, consists of two stages:
- The first stage consists of determining the clinical manifestations of the disease from the words of the hypertensive patient and obtaining the results of additional studies;
- The second stage is a special study that makes it possible to determine the exact extent of the disease and the presence of its complications in the patient using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) therapy or X-ray examination.
Daily monitoring of blood pressure allows you to get an accurate picture of the course of the disease.Thanks to it, you will be able to establish the range of pressure fluctuations throughout the day and determine their average, which will characterize the degree of hypertension.The main disadvantage of this type of research is its high cost.
Treatment
Treatment of hypertension exacerbations should be carried out in a cardiology hospital, where it is possible to constantly monitor blood pressure levels.Furthermore, if necessary, the doctor can modify the patient's treatment plan and prescribe more effective drugs in each specific clinical case.
Treatment of the disease begins with the appointment of a special diet, which strictly limits table salt, fatty and fried foods, as well as offal, smoked meats and flour products.Nutrition of hypertensive patients is aimed at improving the general condition, preventing the development of edema, normalizing weight, and the like.
According to new European recommendations, the treatment of hypertension should be comprehensive and necessarily include a series of medications whose action is aimed at reducing blood pressure and eliminating the risks of transforming the disease into a malignant version of its course or developing complications of the pathological condition.Among the groups of drugs most used for hypertension are:
- alpha blockers;
- ganglia blockers;
- ACE inhibitors;
- beta blockers;
- calcium channel blockers;
- diuretics.
The doctor pays special attention to the prescription of diuretics.The fact is that not all diuretics are safe for the body of a hypertensive patient due to their potassium leaching properties.That is why taking such medications should be combined with the use of potassium supplements under the control of the biochemical composition of the blood.In addition, diuretics not only lower blood pressure, but also eliminate tissue inflammation by eliminating excess sodium.
Self-treatment of hypertension is strictly prohibited.
The use of traditional antihypertensive medications without your doctor's approval is also not recommended.Prohibited actions, as the main contraindication, can provoke an emergency hypertensive crisis and the need for immediate hospitalization of the patient in a specialized hospital to determine the causes of complications and decide on other tactics for their elimination.
Prevention
To prevent hypertension, it is necessary to undergo a set of measures aimed at timely identifying and eliminating the risks of developing a pathological condition, as well as stabilizing already high blood pressure.To prevent the appearance of the first signs of the disease, a person must normalize his lifestyle, abandon bad habits and salt consumption, increase physical activity, and also lose weight.Particular attention should be paid to the health of potential patients whose risk of developing hypertension is hereditary.This category of people should always have a device for measuring pressure at hand, with which they can monitor their condition.
Blood pressure problems can be prevented by:
- lead an active lifestyle (physiotherapy, fitness, massage, walks in the fresh air, skiing, swimming in the pool) and regularly train in the gym;
- give up junk food, smoking and drinking alcohol;
- reduce salt intake to 3-4 g per day;
- prohibit eating foods high in animal fats, preservatives and cholesterol;
- maintain a clear daily routine and practice adequate sleep;
- prevent the appearance of excess fat deposits, which cause obesity;
- prevent stressful situations;
- periodically undergo preventive examinations with a cardiologist and take the necessary tests;
- When the first signs of increased blood pressure appear, seek medical help immediately.
People who have inherited a tendency to hypertension should be attentive to their health, exercise and undergo regular examinations.A prepared diagnosis of hypertension involves clinical observation of patients and, if necessary, referral to a commission to determine disability.