A person continues to live as long as his heart beats. This organ distills blood in the vessels, contributing to the formation of blood pressure, the indicators of which should normally correspond to 120/80 mm Hg. Art. When the indicators are above the norm, they talk about the development of a pathology such as hypertension, which can be dangerous to human he alth. Today, hypertension is one of the main causes of disability in people around the world. According to statistics, it often leads to death in patients who seek medical help late.
Problem description
Hypertension or hypertension is a pathology in which high blood pressure develops as a result of neuro-functional disorders of vascular tone. The disease often leads to organic and functional disorders of the heart, kidneys and organs of the central nervous system. The main feature of hypertension is persistent high blood pressure, the indicators of which do not return to normal on their own, but require medication to reduce them.
Hypertension, risk of developmentwhich is high primarily in the elderly, suggests the presence of blood pressure above 140/90 mm Hg. Art., which is fixed in a calm state of a person during several medical appointments.
Hypertension increases both blood pressure readings. The upper high pressure indicates a violation of the contractile function of the left heart ventricle, and the lower one shows the force of expulsion of blood from the organ. When a person has constantly high blood pressure, this indicates that he has disorders in the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
Hypertension, the risk of which increases with age, contributes to an increase in blood viscosity. This leads to a decrease in the speed of its movement and metabolism in tissues. As a result, the vascular walls become thicker, their lumen narrows, and this leads to a high vascular resistance force, provoking the development of irreversible processes in the body. Over time, the walls of blood vessels become permeable, changes occur in organs and tissues. At the same time, the degree of their damage can be different, therefore, in medicine, several variants of the disease are distinguished.
Epidemiology
Hypertension is equally diagnosed in women and men, it happens in 20% of cases. Usually the disease begins to develop after forty years, sometimes the pathology occurs in adolescents.
This disease provokes the development of serious complications. Hypertension is one of the most commoncauses of death for young people around the world. In developed European countries, the disease occurs in half of the population. According to statistics, in economically developed countries about 65% of people know about their illness, while only half of them receive effective treatment.
Forms of hypertension
In medicine, there are several forms of the disease:
- A drug form in which an increase in blood pressure is due to long-term use of steroids or contraceptives.
- Essential or primary hypertension develops for unknown reasons, often inherited.
- Symptomatic or secondary hypertension is characterized by the appearance against the background of diseases of the brain, adrenal glands, heart, blood vessels, kidneys and other things.
- False hypertension is diagnosed in those who are afraid of doctors.
Degrees of hypertension
There are three degrees of disease severity:
- Hypertension 1 degree is a mild form of the disease. In this case, there are violations in the work of the heart, which appear abruptly. Attacks pass without complications. This pathology is referred to as a preclinical form of hypertension, when periods of exacerbations are replaced by the disappearance of symptoms, and the pressure returns to normal.
- Hypertension 2 degrees proceeds in a moderate form. In this case, usually the pressure of a person is within 160/110 mm Hg. Art. Sometimes the upper levels can increase to 179 mm Hg. Art. hypertensioncharacterized by long periods of high blood pressure, it rarely returns to normal.
- Hypertension 3 degrees - a dangerous form of the disease, when the pressure increases to 190/115 mm Hg. Art. These indicators never decrease, since irreversible consequences have occurred in the body. With an unexpected decrease in pressure, they speak of a violation in the work of the heart, therefore, it is recommended to immediately consult a doctor. People often develop hypertensive crises, and death is possible. With this disease, blood vessels, kidneys, brain and heart are affected.
Degrees of disease risk
Degrees of hypertension also imply the development of complications from the vessels and the heart for ten years. It is customary to distinguish four risk groups:
- Risk 1 when chances of complications are less than 15%.
- Hypertension, risk 2. With this degree, the formation of pathologies occurs with a frequency of 15 to 20%.
- Hypertension, risk 3. The incidence of negative consequences reaches 30%.
- The risk of developing serious pathologies is above 30%.
Hypertension grade 3 (risk 3 and 4) involves the development of irreversible changes in several organs at once, which are accompanied by serious complications, such as a heart attack.
Causes of disease development
One of the causes of the disease is hereditary predisposition (in 50% of cases). This is due to a mutation in certain genes.
To other possible reasons for developmentany stage of hypertension include:
- Disorder of metabolism in the body, obesity. In people with obesity, pathology is observed in 85% of cases.
- Prolonged emotional stress, stress and depression.
- Head injuries from traffic accidents, falls, etc.
- Diseases of the cardiovascular and endocrine systems of a chronic nature.
- Diseases of viral and infectious ontogenesis.
- Age features of the organism. In people over the age of forty, sclerotic kidney damage is often observed, provoking an increase in pressure.
- Disorders of the hormonal system in women.
- High blood cholesterol levels.
- Substance abuse, coffee.
- Improper diet that includes high intake of s alt and sodium.
- Sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity, rare exposure to fresh air, sitting in front of the computer for a long period of time.
- Disorder of sleep and wakefulness, climate and weather change.
- A sharp release of adrenaline into the blood.
Risk factors
In addition to the known causes of hypertension, there are risk factors, which include the following pathologies:
- pregnancy;
- menopause in women;
- atherosclerosis;
- ages forty to sixty;
- narrowing of the canals of the spine;
- diabetes mellitus;
- renal or heart failure;
- pathologyhypothalamus;
- adrenal, pituitary, or thyroid disorders;
- taking steroids, contraceptives for a long time.
Symptoms of the disease
There are many options for the manifestation of the disease, it all depends on the stage of hypertension. The risk of developing pathology, in turn, depends on the organs that are affected.
In its early stages, hypertension manifests as headache, dizziness, tinnitus, and throbbing in the head. This may result in increased heart rate, fatigue, and nausea.
Hypertension of the 2nd degree is characterized by the presence of shortness of breath during physical exertion, sweating, numbness of the fingers of the upper and lower extremities, pain in the heart, swelling of the hands. Often patients complain of the appearance of dots in front of the eyes as a result of spasms of the vessels of the eyes, decreased vision, and a short-term loss of consciousness. At this stage of the development of the disease, there is a disorder in the functioning of internal organs, often hypertensive crises occur, which provoke swelling of the brain and lungs, heart attack or stroke, paralysis, development of thrombosis.
Hypertension of the 3rd degree is characterized by the presence of the same symptoms, but the pathology of the internal organs joins them. The disease affects the brain, eyes, kidneys, blood vessels and heart. A person's coordination of movement is disturbed, the skin becomes red, the limbs lose sensitivity, shortness of breath and clouding of consciousness appear. In severe cases, a person does not have the ability to move and servehimself, so he needs constant care.
Hypertensive crisis
Hypertension in severe cases often leads to hypertensive crises, which is characterized by a sudden increase in blood pressure and the manifestation of all of the above symptoms. The duration of the crisis can be several hours. The person feels the fear of death. With hypertension in a person of 2 or 3 degrees, crises are accompanied by speech disorder, convulsions, loss of susceptibility of the limbs, confusion, severe pain in the heart, loss of consciousness. The chronic course of the disease leads to the development of a hypertensive crisis lasting up to several days.
Complications
Hypertension leads to a devastating effect on the entire body. The greater the stage of development of the pathology, the more severe the consequences of the disease. When the blood circulation is disturbed, a stroke develops in the brain. Heart pathologies also develop, a person has a heart rhythm disorder, angina pectoris, and myocardial infarction occurs. With hypertension, the activity of the kidneys is gradually disrupted.
Complications of hypertension include:
- heart attack;
- stroke;
- cerebral thrombosis;
- pulmonary edema;
- complete loss of vision;
- atherosclerosis;
- aortic aneurysm, angina pectoris;
- encephalopathy;
- nephropathy;
- kidney failure.
Diagnosis of hypertension
Diagnosis of the disease should be comprehensive. The doctor prescribes laboratory and hardware tests. The main task of diagnostics is to identify the stage of the disease and the causes of its development. To establish the causes of poor he alth, it is necessary to measure blood pressure for two weeks twice a day to obtain data in dynamics. It is the measurement of pressure that is the main method for diagnosing hypertension, which allows you to assess the state of the cardiovascular system. In each case, diagnostic methods such as ultrasound, ECG, CT or MRI, urography and aortography are prescribed.
Laboratory tests involve blood, glucose, creatine and potassium levels, and cholesterol. Urine tests and a Reberg test are also prescribed, as well as an examination of the fundus with the help of ophthalmoscopy.
Hypertension therapy
Treatment of hypertension involves the selection of medications in each case, which are aimed not only at lowering blood pressure, but also at preventing the development of complications. In most cases, the following medications are prescribed:
- Sartans - make it possible to lower blood pressure for twenty-four hours after taking them once.
- Diuretic thiazide drugs aimed at reducing the amount of fluid in the patient's body.
- Beta-blockers ensure normalization of the heart rate.
- Alpha blockers allow blood vessels to dilate.
- Calcium antagonists atheart failure, arrhythmias, angina, or atherosclerosis.
- ATP inhibitors that expand the cavities of blood vessels and arteries, preventing the development of vasospasm, normalizing the activity of the heart.
Prescribed drugs should be taken daily, while the patient is advised to avoid stressful situations, emotional overload, nervous experiences.
In the third degree of hypertension, the same groups of drugs are prescribed as in the other stages of the disease, but their dosage is increased. The effect of drug treatment at this stage of the disease is small, so patients must take pills for life. Severe hypertension requires surgery. In this case, stem cell therapy is often used.
When treating hypertension, the doctor must jointly treat concomitant diseases and complications of the main ailment. Therefore, it is recommended to visit a doctor regularly for possible adjustments in treatment, as well as to monitor the patient's condition.
Nutrition for hypertension
An integral part of the treatment is a diet that limits the intake of s alt and fatty foods. Moderate physical activity and physical activity are also needed.
It is necessary to include low-fat cottage cheese, whey or yogurt, boiled beef, lemons, and legumes in the diet. These products have the ability to remove harmful substances from the body. You can not eat s alty, spicy, smoked and spicy foods, caffeine,alcohol, as they increase blood pressure.
S alt is especially harmful to the body in hypertension. It is recommended to completely remove the s alt shaker from the table and do not add s alt to the dishes during meals. Ready-made products already contain the amount of s alt that we need per day.
Some doctors recommend the use of ginger, which is endowed with many medicinal properties. This product is added to tea, desserts, it helps to thin the blood and relax the muscles near the vessels.
It is also recommended to spend most of the time in the fresh air, go for walks, monitor your weight, and exercise.
Forecast and prevention
The prognosis of hypertension depends on the stage of its development and course. Hypertension of the 3rd degree, which occurs with complications, has an unfavorable prognosis. In this case, the risk of developing a heart attack, stroke, heart failure and death is very high. Patients who develop hypertension at a young age have a poor prognosis. Regular use of medications and compliance with all doctor's recommendations can slow down the progression of the disease. In some cases, a person is given a disability, he will be forced to use medicines for his whole life.
For the purpose of prevention, it is necessary to exclude provoking factors, this is especially true for those who have a hereditary predisposition to the disease. It is important to monitor your blood pressure as it increasesa long period of time it is recommended to consult a doctor.
Often, in severe forms of hypertension, a person is assigned a disability, in which labor activity is contraindicated. With a mild form of the disease, the patient is under medical supervision.
Preventive measures should include moderate physical activity to maintain vascular tone, adherence to diet, sleep and wakefulness, weight control, exclusion of addictions, regular glucose tests, self-monitoring of blood pressure, twice a year ECG.
The right approach to prevention methods can reduce the risk of negative consequences, as well as save the patient's life.
