How to recognize the symptoms of hypertension and avoid dangerous complications?

Hypertension is one of the most common heart pathologies, which is now diagnosed in every third inhabitant of our planet over the age of 45.In recent years, the disease has become much younger and now quite often among the number of hypertensive patients one can see very young people with high blood pressure.The main danger of the pathological condition lies in its complications.Hypertension can cause heart attacks and strokes, cause the rupture of large vessel aneurysms, trigger the development of severe kidney function disorders and sudden deterioration in the quality of vision.

A person's blood pressure has an upper, cardiac, or systolic value, as well as a lower diastolic, or renal, level.According to WHO standards, the norm for this indicator should not exceed 139/89 mmHg.Art., otherwise, it is customary to talk about hypertension.Early diagnosis and timely treatment of hypertension is a person's chance to prevent the occurrence of pathological changes in many internal organs, which will allow them to maintain health and enjoy a full life for many years.

The reasons

Unfortunately, modern medical science has not yet been able to fully unravel all the possible causes of hypertension, but most of them are known to doctors.Only an experienced specialist can identify which factors lead to the development of the disease, who in the diagnostic process use not only their knowledge, but also the results of many studies that confirm or deny the presence of signs of hypertension in a person.

The main reason for the increase in 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 happen under the influence of various exo and endogenous factors that contribute to sudden vascular spasm.

Symptoms of hypertension can appear in people who have exogenous risk factors called for the development of pathological conditions:

• frequent stress and severe nervous tension;
• poor nutrition;
• sedentary lifestyle;
• long working hours, night shift work;
• regular consumption of large quantities of strong alcoholic beverages and smoking;
• drugs;
• intense sports activities.

Among the endogenous factors, age and weak heredity are of concern, when the disease can be transmitted from parent to child.The development of hypertension is also promoted by:

1. vascular damage by atherosclerosis;
2. obesity;
3. metabolic diseases, especially diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism;
4. kidney disease;
5. increased levels of calcium and sodium in the blood;
6. 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, causes of development, indicators of stress, and more.

Modern cardiologists distinguish several degrees of hypertension (depending on the indicator of high blood pressure):

• Grade 1 – pressure rises to 159-140/99-90 mm Hg.Art.;
• 2nd degree - on the needle of the mechanical tonometer the indicator is diagnosed as 179-160 / 109-100 mm Hg.Art.;
• Grade 3 - persistent or periodic increase in pressure more than 180/110 mm Hg.Art.

According to the generally accepted WHO classification, there are the following stages of the disease:

• Stage 1 - a temporary increase in pressure without damage to the target organ;
• Stage 2 - the presence of signs of damage to internal organs, among which the main targets are 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 manifestation of which a person can die.

Hypertension disease has its own types, including:

1. benign type or indolent variant of hypertension, when pathological symptoms develop very slowly, over several decades, and the risk of complications is assessed as minimal;
2. malignant disease in which sudden surges in pressure, damage to target organs and hypertensive crises are frequently recorded (this variant of the disease is difficult to treat with drugs).

symptoms

In the early stages of its development, this disease can be said to be asymptomatic, which complicates its early detection.In such patients, high blood pressure may be detected incidentally during a medical examination or during a routine clinic appointment.

A more complex type of hypertension is characterized by several signs that significantly worsen a person's quality of life and are the reason for his referral to a specialist.The main symptom of this disease is an increase in blood pressure above 140/90 mm Hg.Art.This condition triggers the development of a headache, which is the result of a reflex narrowing of blood vessels in the brain.As a rule, people prone to hypertension complain about the appearance of pain in the back of the head and temples, which is pulsating in nature, characterized by sudden severity and development.Such pain and throbbing did not go away after taking analgesics.

Often, hypertensive patients experience solo dizziness, which can occur after doing simple work.These symptoms are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, as well as general lethargy due to increased intracranial pressure.Narrowing of the hearing aid canal causes tinnitus, when a person feels that his ears are very blocked, and he almost loses the ability to perceive the sounds of his environment normally.

Violation of coronary blood flow leads to the development of myocardial ischemia.Such patients experience shortness of breath and chest pain, which can be easily corrected with the help of nitrates.At this time, the organ works in an enhanced mode so that it can push a group of blood into the narrow main vessel.Each attack of angina is accompanied by a rapid pulse, significant palpitations and the risk that complications such as a terrible pathological condition such as myocardial infarction will occur.

In the case of hypertension, eye dysfunction is determined by a sharp deterioration in vision and the development of hypertensive angiopathy of retinal vessels.The pathological process also involves the fundus of the eye, which swells and compresses the optic nerve.At this time, the person notices "goosebumps" in front of his eyes, dark circles, etc.

Complications of high blood pressure symptoms in women most often occur during menopause, when menopause occurs.During this period, hormonal changes occur in the body of the fairer sex, disrupting the production of biologically active substances that regulate normal blood pressure levels.That is why hypertension is the most common consequence of menopause in women.

Complications

HD is one of the dangerous diseases that is slowly progressive 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 target organs, leading to severe functional impairment.First of all, the kidneys, brain, heart, visual analyzer and blood vessels are affected by arterial hypertension.

There are several risk factors that influence the rate of development of complications in hypertension and their severity:

• bad habits, especially smoking;
• sedentary lifestyle and increased body mass index;
• high blood cholesterol and hyperglycemia;
• frequent stress;
• lack of potassium and magnesium in the body;
• age-related changes;
• hereditary tendency.

With hypertension, the heart is forced to work under conditions of increased pressure, which is associated with the need to push blood into narrowed vessels.Over time, the myocardial wall thickens and a person experiences left ventricular hypertrophy and oxygen starvation of the heart muscle.

From the heart side, there are several types of hypertension complications:

1. ischemic disease;
2. angina pectoris;
3. coronary artery atherosclerosis;
4. acute form of heart failure in the form of myocardial infarction;
5. chronic heart failure.

High blood pressure levels cause the appearance of brain disorders in a person, which in practice manifests itself as severe dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, memory loss, and more.There are several options for complex cerebral 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 perform their main task fully.This contributes to several complications, including:

1. kidney failure;
2. dysfunction of filtration and fluid secretion;
3. nephrosclerosis.

Such disturbances lead to the development of several symptoms in hypertensive patients that indicate kidney pathology.A sick person begins to complain of general weakness, malaise, swelling, and nausea for no reason.

Eye damage is indicated by bleeding in the retina, swelling of the optic nerve head and progressive loss of vision.In 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 is formed and is asymptomatic, often causing sudden death.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis of hypertension with the establishment of the stage and the degree of development of the disease is an important step towards prescribing adequate treatment for the pathological condition.That is why, when the first signs of hypertension appear, you should immediately contact a medical institution to find out the cause of high blood pressure and methods for its correction.

A set of diagnostic measures for suspected hypertension includes several laboratory and instrumental studies, including:

• laboratory blood tests to determine potassium and magnesium levels, creatinine, bad cholesterol, glucose, etc.;
• biochemical study of urine with the determination of the amount of protein;
• electrocardiography (ECG);
• ultrasound examination of the heart;
• Doppler Flowmetry;
• fundus examination.

The diagnostic procedure for hypertension, which allows us to determine the degree of deterioration, consists of two stages:

1. the first stage is to determine the clinical manifestations of the disease from the words of hypertensive patients and obtain the results of additional studies;
2. the second stage is a special study that allows you to determine the true extent of the disease and the presence of complications in the patient using magnetic resonance therapy (MRI) or x-ray examination.

Daily blood pressure monitoring allows you to get an accurate picture of the course of the disease.Thanks to him, you can establish the range of pressure fluctuations throughout the day and determine its average, which will characterize the level of hypertension.The main disadvantage of such research is its high cost.

Treatment

Treatment of exacerbation of hypertension should take place in a cardiology hospital, where it is possible to constantly monitor blood pressure levels.In addition, if necessary, the doctor can amend the patient's treatment plan and prescribe a more effective drug in each specific clinical case.

Treatment of the disease begins with the appointment of a special diet, which limits table salt, fatty and fried foods, as well as offal, smoked meat, and flour products.Nutrition for hypertensive patients aims to improve the general condition, prevent the development of edema, normalize body weight, etc.

According to the new European recommendations, the treatment of hypertension should be comprehensive and necessarily include several drugs, actions aimed at reducing blood pressure and eliminating the risk of turning the disease into a malignant version in its course or developing complications of pathological conditions.Among the groups of drugs most used for hypertension are:

• alpha blockers;
• ganglion blockers;
• ACE inhibitors;
• beta blockers;
• calcium channel blockers;
• diuretic.

Doctors pay special attention to the prescription of diuretics.The fact is that not every diuretic is safe for the body of hypertensive patients because of its potassium dissolving properties.That is why taking these drugs should be combined with the use of potassium supplements under the control of the biochemical composition of the blood.In addition, diuretics not only reduce blood pressure, but also eliminate tissue swelling by removing excess sodium.

Self-treatment of hypertension is strictly prohibited.

It is also not recommended to use traditional antihypertensive drugs without the permission of such use from your doctor.Prohibited actions, as the main contraindication, can trigger an emergency hypertensive crisis and the need for immediate placement of the patient in a specialized hospital to determine the cause of complications and decide on further tactics for their elimination.

Prevention

To prevent hypertension, it is necessary to undergo a set of measures aimed at identifying and eliminating the risk of pathological development in time, as well as stabilizing already high blood pressure.To avoid the occurrence of the first signs of the disease, a person should normalize their lifestyle, abandon bad habits and salt consumption, increase their physical activity, and also lose excess weight.Special 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 to measure pressure on hand, with which they can monitor their condition.

Blood pressure problems can be prevented by:

1. lead an active lifestyle (physical therapy, fitness, massage, walking in the fresh air, skiing, swimming in the pool) and regularly train in the gym;
2. giving up junk food, smoking and drinking alcohol;
3. reduce salt intake to 3-4 g per day;
4. prohibit yourself from eating foods high in animal fat, preservatives, and cholesterol;
5. maintain a clear daily routine and practice adequate sleep;
6. avoid the appearance of excessive fat deposits, which cause obesity;
7. avoid stressful situations;
8. regularly undergo preventive examinations with a cardiologist and take the necessary tests;
9. When the first signs of increased blood pressure appear, seek medical help immediately.

People who inherit a tendency to hypertension should take care of their health, exercise and undergo regular check-ups.The diagnosis of ready hypertension involves clinical observation of the patient and, if necessary, referral to a commission to determine disability.