What is arterial hypertension: basic concepts and why it is dangerous

High blood pressure (hypertension) is the most common cardiovascular disease.

High blood pressure is rapidly "rejuvenating", is now not only a disease of the elderly, but is common in pregnant women and is becoming more common in adolescents.

What is arterial hypertension? The answer to this question is found in the definition of the disease state.

It is characterized by chronically elevated blood pressure when the highest value (systolic pressure) exceeds 140 mm Hg and the lowest value (diastolic pressure) exceeds 90 mm Hg. at least three measurements taken at different times are made on a person in a calm state.

The optimal blood pressure indicators are 120-130 per 80-89 mm Hg. If they are higher, then it is necessary to start active treatment of hypertension. However, only a few diagnose this disease at an early stage: about 35% of men and 55% of women know about their hypertension, only half of them are involved in the treatment of arterial hypertension, and only 6% of the male population and 20%of the female population control their pressure.

The earlier arterial hypertension is recognized and controlled, the lower the risk of developing complications of hypertension (ischemic disease, atherosclerosis, kidney disease, low blood testosterone levels, erectile dysfunction) in the future.

High blood pressure can be one of the causes of male impotence.

It's useful to note

The main task of treating hypertension is to constantly control blood pressure to avoid even more serious health problems, since this disease cannot be completely cured.

What is dangerous high blood pressure?

With prolonged hypertension, the walls of blood vessels thicken and lose their ability to relax, which prevents normal blood supply and, as a result, saturation of tissues and organs with oxygen and other nutrients, as well as a decrease in their functional activity. Let's consider in more detail what dangerous hypertension is:

• Hypertensive Crisis- the most common exacerbation of arterial hypertension, can occur both in a relatively satisfactory condition of the patient, and caused by the patient's psychophysical stress. Hypertensive crisis, developing at high speed, dramatically increases blood pressure, causes severe headache, dizziness, tachycardia or arrhythmia, nausea and vomiting. At risk are those who suffer from weather dependency, are in the preclimatic period.
• Heart attack- Complications from high blood pressure can occur within minutes and lead to death. The main symptom is a persistent attack of pain.
• stroke- Circulatory disorders in the vessels of the brain, cerebral hemorrhage, characterized by a sudden severe headache, which is quickly accompanied by other symptoms from the brain: speech disorders, twisted mouth, paralysis of a part of the body. If urgent measures are taken in hypertension and capillary bloodletting is performed, this process can be reversible.
• angina pectoris- The disease is less transient. Injury to the heart causes severe emotional overload, overwork. Accompanied by severe dull chest pains, malaise, can cause frequent vomiting.
• heart failure- a chronic disease of the heart muscle, in which it cannot supply oxygen to the organs and tissues of the body. It is characterized by the patient's total weakness, in which he cannot endure elementary physical activities: independent lifting, walking, etc.
• Coronary heart disease- insufficient blood supply to the coronary arteries, which leads to insufficient nutrition of the heart. With careful observance of the prescribed treatment for hypertension, it is not difficult to avoid the development of coronary disease.
• kidney failure- impaired kidney function, destruction of neurons, partial inability to remove toxins from the body. Arterial hypertension is the second most common cause of acute or chronic kidney failure after diabetes mellitus.
• visual disturbances- occurs as a result of impaired blood supply to the retina and optic nerve. A sharp increase in blood pressure can lead to spasm of the artery that feeds the optic nerve and damage the integrity of the retinal vessels. Hypertension is dangerous with pathologies such as retinal or vitreous hemorrhage: the first leads to the formation of a black spot in the field of vision, the second - loss of vision in the affected eye.

In order to avoid complications that are so dangerous hypertension, it is necessary to consult a doctor in a timely manner and conduct an examination that will help determine the stage of development of the disease and prescribe the necessary treatment.

Degree of hypertension: classification, forms

A number of classifications of hypertension are used based on the nature of the assessment of one or more criteria.

Assign stages of development such as origin, form of leakage, level of blood pressure, degree of damage to target organs.

The main task in diagnosing arterial hypertension is to differentiate the nature of the disease. There are two large groups:

• primary or essential hypertension - elevated blood pressure is the main cause;
• secondary or symptomatic arterial hypertension - hypertension is caused by diseases of other organs or systems: kidneys, heart, endocrine glands, lungs, thyroid gland.

According to experts

Treatment of symptomatic hypertension cannot be done without treating the disease that caused it and begins with it. In some cases, with the elimination of the underlying disease, hypertension also disappears.

Blood pressure, up to and including a hypertensive crisis, can also increase as a result of taking certain medications incorrectly, in the case of neuroses, excessive consumption of caffeine and other stimulants.

When diagnosing essential hypertension, doctors usually classify the disease according to blood pressure in order to choose the right tactics to treat essential hypertension. In international practice, there are three degrees of hypertension:

• high blood pressure 1 degree- systolic pressure 140–159 mm Hg, diastolic pressure 90–99 mm Hg. A mild form of the disease, in which an abrupt change in blood pressure is characteristic, can both normalize on its own and rise again.
• high blood pressure 2 degrees- systolic 160-179 mmHg, diastolic 100-109 mmHg. Moderate form, the increase in pressure is prolonged, rarely falls to normal values.
• high blood pressure 3 degrees- systolic over 180 mm Hg, diastolic over 110 mm Hg. Severe form, the pressure is stable at the level of pathological indicators, proceeds with severe complications and is difficult to correct with drugs.

Separately, isolated systolic hypertension is isolated, which occurs in about a third of elderly people with arterial hypertension. This form arises from age-related loss of elasticity of large vessels, often accompanied by myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy. Blood pressure indicators: systolic up to 160 mm Hg. and above, diastolic - below 90 mm Hg.

A useful piece of information

It is worth noting another small group - the so-called "white coat hypertension", in which a person's blood pressure under the influence of psycho-emotional factors increases only at the time of measurement by a medical worker. In such cases, the diagnosis is clarified by repeated pressure measurements in a quiet home environment.

In addition to the degree of hypertension, the diagnosis also assesses risk factors that can lead to complications in the cardiovascular system, as well as the stage of the clinical course of the disease:

• Transistor (early stage) hypertension. The increase in pressure occurs periodically and returns to normal values; Drugs that lower blood pressure are not used.
• unstable hypertension. An increase in blood pressure is directly related to a provoking factor: stress, severe mental or physical stress. Drugs are needed to stabilize the pressure.
• Stable arterial hypertension. Persistent increase in pressure where serious supportive therapy is used.
• Malignant form. By increasing the pressure to a very high level, the disease rapidly progresses and leads to the development of serious complications.
• crisis form. Periodic hypertensive crises against the background of normal or slightly increased pressure are characteristic.

An assessment of the severity of hypertension and the risk of possible complications is possible only on the basis of a thorough examination: general and biochemical tests, ultrasound of the heart and other organs, ECG, fundus examination. A complete examination of a patient with arterial hypertension is usually carried out as part of an inpatient treatment.

Hypertension is the main warning sign of high blood pressure in both men and women.

The symptoms of hypertension can be absent for a long time, and if a person does not constantly use a tonometer, he can find out about his disease after he has already begun to treat its complications.

Often hypertension has no manifestations at all, except for its main symptom - persistent hypertension.

Also, the term "persistent" or "chronic" is key here, because in a number of situations (stress, anxiety, or anger) the pressure can build up and then return to normal on its own.

However, few control the level of their pressure, so you should pay attention to the following symptoms that indicate the development of arterial hypertension:

• Headache. Most often it manifests itself in the occipital, parietal region or in the temples. It can appear both at night and immediately after waking up. As a rule, it increases with mental or physical exertion. Sometimes accompanied by swelling of the eyelids and face.
• Dizziness. Sometimes even with little physical exertion: coughing, turning or tilting your head, a sharp increase.
• pain in the region of the heart. Occur not only with emotional stress, but also at rest. Both long-lasting aching, pressing pain and short-term, stabbing pain are possible. Do not disappear after taking nitroglycerin.
• Strong heartbeat.
• noises in the ears.
• Visual impairment: haze, fog, "flies" in front of the eyes.
• Arterial disease: cold extremities, intermittent claudication.
• swelling of the legs. Indicate a violation of the excretory function of the kidneys or heart failure.
• dyspnea. It occurs both during physical exertion and at rest.

It is important to know

Hypertensive crisis - an emergency caused by too high blood pressure can also be classified as a symptom of grade 2 and 3 hypertension. At the same time, patients with arterial hypertension of the 1st degree, strictly adhering to the doctor's recommendations and following a diet for hypertensive patients, can achieve the complete disappearance of unpleasant symptoms of the disease.

It cannot be said that the symptoms of hypertension in men and women are significantly different, but in fact men are more prone to this disease, especially in the 40-55 age group. Among other things, this is due to the different physiological structure: men, in contrast to women, each have a greater body weight and the volume of blood circulating in their vessels is significantly higher, which creates favorable conditions for hypertension.

On the other hand, women are more responsible for their health and proper lifestyle. The number of stressful situations at work, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking is higher in men, which no longer refers to the symptoms of high blood pressure, but to the causes of its development.

Treatment of hypertension with medicines and folk remedies

Treatment of hypertension, as well as other difficult-to-diagnose diseases that require constant therapy (diabetes mellitus, allergies, prostatitis and impotence) should be compiled and prescribed only by a specialist. When dietary restrictions, salt intake, avoidance of alcohol and smoking, avoidance of stress and other correctable causes of high blood pressure do not help normalize blood pressure, high blood pressure pills are prescribed.

When treating hypertension with folk remedies, there are usually no side effects. You don't have to run to the pharmacy for expensive medicines and stand in line at the doctor for another prescription. All you have to do is make time for yourself, change your diet and learn to manage stress.

Causes of high blood pressure and the development of high blood pressure

The causes of arterial hypertension are not yet fully understood, both the internal systems of the body and external factors play an important role in the development of the disease.

The main causes of hypertension are impaired blood circulation through the vessels, limited flow into the left ventricle. In modern medicine, there is a completely logical explanation for this - structural changes in blood vessels with age, the formation of blood clots and atherosclerotic plaques in their cavities.

If with symptomatic hypertension the causes of hypertension are caused by other diseases, then with essential hypertension, namely this form is recorded in 85% of cases, the exact causes of hypertension cannot be established, they occur independently.

There are many risk factors that contribute to a sustained increase in blood pressure, they are mostly considered to be causes of high blood pressure. These include:

• Age, for men over 55 years, for women over 65 years. With age, the walls of blood vessels lose their elasticity, which increases their resistance to blood flow, causing pressure to rise.
• hereditary predisposition.
• Floor. As already mentioned, men are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure.
• Violation of lipid metabolism, obesity (men with a waist circumference of more than 102 cm, women - more than 88 cm).
• diabetes mellitus.
• Smoking. It causes an immediate rise in blood pressure, and long-term smokers are prone to vascular disease.
• alcohol abuse. A person who stops drinking will have their blood pressure lowered by at least fifteen points.
• Excessive salt intake. Excessive intake of sodium, the main component of table salt, is one of the most important causes of hypertension in hypertensive patients: sodium chloride prevents the removal of fluid from the body, which increases the patient's already high vascular tone. Remember that the average person consumes three times as much salt as they need. Learn not to add salt to your food.
• sedentary lifestyle, sedentary lifestyle.
• exposure to stress.
• Disorder of cholesterol metabolism.
• Inadequate intake of potassium from the diet.
• Increased level of adrenaline in the blood.
• Congenital heart defects.

Various kidney diseases, late toxicosis of pregnant women, regular use of certain medications, partially this also applies to oral contraceptives, are due to the causes of secondary hypertension.

The above risk factors can be divided into two large groups:

• What can be eliminated alone or with the help of doctors: treat obesity, lower blood cholesterol, reduce the number of cigarettes smoked, alcohol or salt consumption, lose weight and so on.
• Avoid what is not possible: age and hereditary predisposition.

Therefore, those who belong to the so-called second risk group need to carefully monitor their health, control and prevent hypertension. And for everyone who has at least one of the above factors, constantly monitor blood pressure and, of course, lead a normal and active lifestyle.