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

Hypertension is one of the most common heart diseases, which is currently diagnosed in one in three inhabitants of our planet over the age of 45.In recent years the disease has become significantly younger and now quite often among hypertensive patients you can see 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 does his diastolic pressure or his lower renal level.According to WHO standards, the norm for these indicators should not be higher than 139/89 mmHg.Art., otherwise we usually talk about hypertension.Early diagnosis and timely treatment of hypertension represent 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.

Reasons

Unfortunately, modern medical science has not yet managed to fully reveal all the probable causes of hypertension, but most of them are known to doctors.Only an experienced specialist can identify which factor led to the development of the disease, who in the diagnostic process uses not only his knowledge, but also the results of numerous studies confirming or refuting 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 occur under the influence of numerous exotic and endogenous factors that contribute to sudden vasospasm.

Symptoms of hypertension may appear in people with 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 quantities of strong alcoholic beverages and smoking;
• drugs;
• intense sporting activities.

Among the endogenous factors, age and poor heredity come to the fore, when the disease can be transmitted from parents to their child.The development of hypertension is also favored by:

1. vascular damage from atherosclerosis;
2. obesity;
3. metabolic diseases, in particular 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 hypertension 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 development, pressure indicators and much more.

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

• 1st degree – pressure rises 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 blood pressure above 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 focus is the heart, blood vessels, eye structures, brain and kidneys;
• Phase 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 obviously has its types, including:

1. 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;
2. a malignant disease in which there are sudden increases in pressure, damage to target organs and frequent hypertensive crises (this variant of the disease is difficult to treat with drugs).

Symptoms

In the initial stages of its development, the disease is practically asymptomatic, which complicates its early diagnosis.In these patients, high blood pressure may be discovered by chance during a doctor's visit or during a routine visit to the clinic.

A more complex type of hypertension is characterized by a number of signs that significantly worsen the quality of a person's life and are the reason why he turns 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 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 rapidity of development.Such pain and throbbing do not disappear after taking painkillers.

Often hypertensive patients experience solitary dizziness, which can occur after doing simple work.The symptom is often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, as well as general malaise due to increased intracranial pressure.The constriction of the vessels of the hearing aid causes tinnitus, when a person feels that his ears are very blocked and practically loses the ability to perceive the sounds of the surrounding environment normally.

Violation of coronary blood flow leads to the development of myocardial ischemia.Such 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 enhanced way to be able to push a quantity of blood into the narrowed main vessels.Each attack of angina is accompanied by a rapid pulse, pronounced palpitations and the risk of occurrence of such a formidable complication of a pathological condition such as myocardial infarction.

In case of hypertension, eye dysfunction is determined by a strong deterioration of vision and the development of hypertensive angiopathy of the 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" before his eyes, dark circles and the like.

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

Complications

HD is one of the insidious diseases that progress slowly and are very often diagnosed already at the stage when the first complications of the pathological process appear.With a constant increase in blood pressure, dystrophic and sclerotic changes occur in target organs, leading to severe functional impairments.First, high blood pressure affects the kidneys, brain, heart, visual analyzer and blood vessels.

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;
• deficiency of potassium and magnesium in the body;
• age-related changes;
• hereditary predisposition.

With hypertensive disease, the heart is forced to work under conditions of increased stress, 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 in the heart muscle.

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

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

A high level of blood pressure causes a person to develop brain disorders, 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 deterioration 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:

1. renal failure;
2. dysfunction of filtration and secretion of liquids;
3. nephrosclerosis.

Such disorders lead to the development of a number of symptoms in hypertensive patients that indicate kidney disease.A sick person begins to complain of general weakness, malaise, swelling and causeless nausea.

Ocular 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 is formed and is asymptomatic, often causing sudden death.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of hypertension with determination of the stage and 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 indicating a hypertensive disease appear, it is necessary to immediately contact a medical institution to find out the causes of hypertension and methods of correcting it.

The set of diagnostic measures for suspected hypertension includes a series of laboratory and instrumental 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 quantity of proteins;
• electrocardiography (ECG);
• ultrasound examination of the heart;
• Doppler flowmetry;
• fundus examination.

The diagnostic process for hypertension, which allows us to determine the degree of impairment, consists of two phases:

1. the first stage is to determine the clinical manifestations of the disease from the words of the hypertensive patient and obtain the results of further studies;
2. the second stage is a special study that allows you to determine the exact extent of the disease and the presence of its complications in the patient using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) therapy or radiographic examination.

Daily monitoring of blood pressure allows you to obtain an accurate picture of the course of the disease.Thanks to it, it is possible to establish the range of blood pressure fluctuations during the day and determine its average, which will characterize the degree of hypertension.The main disadvantage of such research is its high cost.

Treatment

Treatment of hypertension exacerbations should take place in a cardiac hospital, where it is possible to constantly monitor blood pressure levels.Furthermore, if necessary, the doctor can modify the patient's therapeutic 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 meat and flour products.Nutrition for 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 set of drugs, the action of which is aimed at reducing blood pressure and eliminating the risk 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 we find:

• alpha-blockers;
• ganglion blockers;
• ACE inhibitors;
• beta blockers;
• calcium channel blockers;
• diuretics.

The doctor pays particular attention to the prescription of diuretics.The fact is that not all diuretics are safe for the body of a hypertensive patient due to its potassium-leaching properties.That is why taking such 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.

We also do not recommend using traditional antihypertensive medications without your doctor's approval.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 further 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 onset of the first signs of the disease, a person should normalize his lifestyle, abandon bad habits and salt consumption, increase physical activity, and also lose excess 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 the help of which you can monitor their condition.

Blood pressure problems can be prevented:

1. lead an active lifestyle (physiotherapy, fitness, massage, walking in the fresh air, skiing, swimming in the pool) and train regularly in the gym;
2. give up junk food, smoking and alcohol consumption;
3. reduce salt intake to 3-4 g per day;
4. prohibit you from eating foods rich in animal fats, preservatives and cholesterol;
5. maintain a clear daily routine and practice adequate sleep;
6. prevent the appearance of excess fat deposits, which cause obesity;
7. prevent stressful situations;
8. regularly undergo preventive examinations with a cardiologist and undergo the necessary tests;
9. When the first signs of increased blood pressure appear, consult a doctor immediately.

People who have inherited the tendency to hypertension should pay attention to their health, exercise and undergo regular check-ups.A ready-made diagnosis of hypertension involves clinical observation of patients and, if necessary, referral to a commission to determine disability.