Recognize symptoms of high blood pressure early, prevention of complications

High blood pressure (hypertension) is a chronic disease that causes many complications and a high mortality rate. Not only that, high blood pressure is also considered as "the silent killer" because the symptoms are very difficult to recognize, often only transient. So what are the most typical symptoms of high blood pressure? When should blood pressure be screened?

High blood pressure is a common chronic condition in many people

1. How high is blood pressure?

High blood pressure is also known as hypertension, in which the blood circulates with pressure constantly increasing. If the blood pressure pushes against the artery wall when the heart pumps blood high and prolonged, it can cause heart damage, stroke and lead to many other dangerous complications if not treated, stabilize blood pressure in time.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a condition in which the pressure of blood on the walls of blood vessels is continuously elevated. If prolonged, it can cause complications such as: myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure, retinopathy of the eye... and lead to many other dangerous complications if not treated, stabilized blood pressure.

Types of high blood pressure:

• Spontaneous hypertension (no cause of disease).

• Secondary high blood pressure (caused by cardiovascular diseases, kidney ...).

• Systolic hypertension.

• Pregnancy hypertension (pre-eclampsia).

Classification of hypertension according to the European Heart and Blood Pressure Association (ESC / ESH) in 2018

2. Typical symptoms of high blood pressure to keep in mind

Blood pressure can rise without any symptoms. Some signs may appear in some cases, but are usually not obvious. Only when hypertension worsens does the patient feel clearly the symptoms of hypertension.

Headache, dizziness is one of the signs of high blood pressure to watch out for

Some typical symptoms of high blood pressure are:

• Headache, dizziness, tinnitus, loss of balance.

• Shallow breathing.

• Nosebleed.

• Chest pain, difficulty breathing, fast heartbeat.

• Dizziness.

• Blurred vision.

• Red face, nausea, vomiting.

• Hematuria.

• Insomnia.

3. Causes of high blood pressure

For the most part, adult high blood pressure is often an unknown cause. Only 10% of cases are due to causes such as:

• The older you age, the higher your risk of developing high blood pressure.

• Weight.

• Salty foods increase blood pressure because salt increases the absorption of water into the bloodstream.

• A diet rich in fat, especially saturated fat.

• Family history: If someone in your family has high blood pressure, your risk of developing it is also very high.

• Race: African-Americans are at risk for high blood pressure.

• Gender: Men after 45 years of age are more likely to have high blood pressure than women. Women are at risk for postmenopausal high blood pressure.

• Lazy exercise, no exercise.

• Drink a lot of beer and alcohol.

• Suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular ...

• Acute or chronic kidney disease, trunk artery stenosis, adrenal spasms.

• Cushing's syndrome.

• Conn syndrome - primary hyperaldosteronism.

• Psychological stress.

• High blood pressure due to the side effects of oral contraceptives, colds, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and corticosteroids.

• Pregnancy poisoning.

4. Dangerous complications when having high blood pressure

High blood pressure can cause many serious complications if not well controlled. These complications affect the patient seriously, even cause disability or death.

High blood pressure can cause heart attacks if not treated early

Complications of high blood pressure:

• Heart failure: The heart has to work too hard to pump blood to feed the body, making it larger and weaker for a long time.

• Kidney failure: Narrow blood vessels in the kidneys, causing kidney failure.

• Stroke, myocardial infarction: The risk of atherosclerosis in people with high blood pressure is very high. The hardened artery wall can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart attack.

• Aneurysm: High blood pressure can cause an aneurysm, leading to internal bleeding, which is life-threatening.

• Brain complications: Cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, memory loss due to narrowed artery.

• Metabolic syndrome: Metabolic disorders of the body such as increased insulin levels, increased waist circumference, decreased HDL-C ...

• Retinal hemorrhage: The blood vessels in the eye rupture, causing more vision problems than blindness.

5. Diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure

If symptoms of high blood pressure are detected in an early stage, the disease can be controlled with changes in eating, living habits and lifestyle.

5.1. Diagnose

Clinical examination: Based on the symptoms of hypertension, investigating risk factors, medical history, measuring blood pressure with a blood pressure monitor.

Subclinical examination: Urine test, electrocardiogram, chest X-ray, CT scan. 

Checking the blood pressure reading is a way to help monitor abnormalities in blood pressure 

Some notes when preparing to test blood pressure to get the most accurate results:

• Do not drink coffee or smoke when preparing your blood pressure test.

• You should go to the bathroom before measuring your blood pressure.

• Sit still for 5 minutes before the test.

5.2. Treatment of high blood pressure

- Use medicine

For more advanced cases, the doctor will prescribe a number of drugs to lower blood pressure such as:

• Vasodilators.

• Diuretic.

• Beta inhibitors.

• Calcium absorption inhibitors.

• ACE inhibitors.

- Lifestyle changes

Having a healthy lifestyle and science will help you control your blood pressure better. Accordingly, the patient needs to spend time relaxing, resting properly, avoiding anxiety, overwork, nervous stress and sudden cold.

In addition, the patient also needs to increase physical activities such as walking, exercising moderately active exercises for 30-60 minutes per day. 

Exercise not only helps the body healthier, but also helps prevent blood pressure

- Maintain an ideal weight

Try to keep your body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 22.9. If you are obese, you need to actively lose weight, achieve your ideal weight.

- Healthy eating mode

People with high blood pressure encourage foods rich in fiber: brown rice, green vegetables, and ripe fruits. You should eat ripe fruit in pieces / pack, not pressed / ground or squeezed for extra fiber. Should eat foods high in omega 3 fatty acids: salmon, mackerel ...

In particular, do not eat fat, animal organs, processed products: canned fish, salted meat, pickled pickles, stewed dishes, salt, sauces, salty sauces ... Do not drink. Types of alcoholic beverages: beer, wine ...

Subjects with emergency high blood pressure, patients needing treatment in the emergency room or special care room.

Recognizing some of the most typical symptoms of high blood pressure helps you to diagnose early, examine and treat promptly, avoid serious illnesses, causing unfortunate consequences. Therefore, even if you are healthy, you should also have periodic health check-ups, especially for families with a medical history. Patients need long-term monitoring, regularly measuring blood pressure with a home blood pressure monitor and strictly complying with the doctor's treatment regimen.

For detailed advice on cardiac examination packages as well as how to book an appointment, please visit Website: careplusvn.com, Fanpage: CarePlus Clinic Vietnam or contact Hotline: 1800 6116.