Arterial Hypertension - Causes, Symptoms And Stages Of Hypertension

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Causes, symptoms and stages of hypertension

Today, arterial hypertension is the most common disease of the cardiovascular system. This disease is characterized by high blood pressure, which often exceeds 140/90. Constantly high blood pressure is observed in all people who often have vasospasm.

According to many experts in the field of vascular diseases, arterial hypertension most often occurs due to circulatory disorders. Heart failure also belongs to the list of causes that provoke the development of hypertension, which for such a category of patients is a harbinger of deadly diseases: stroke, heart attack, etc.

Arterial hypertension has a negative effect on the patient's blood vessels, which narrow and damage in a short time. When the blood flow is too powerful, the walls of the vessels do not withstand and burst, as a result of which the patients experience hemorrhage. Hemorrhagic infarction occurs directly in the organ in which the vessels that have lost their elasticity and are prone to fragility are located.

Content:

• What is hypertension?
• Hypertension symptoms
• Hypertension Causes and Risk Factors
• What are hypertensive crises?
• Diagnosis of hypertension
• Hypertension stages
• How is hypertension treated?
• The nutritional system for hypertension

What is hypertension?

Hypertension is a disease whose main symptom is high blood pressure, the causes of which are considered to be a neuro-functional disorder of vascular tone. Most often, this disease occurs in people over 40, but recently hypertension has noticeably rejuvenated and is diagnosed in people of different ages. Hypertension equally often affects both men and women. This disease is one of the leading causes of death in people with diseases of the cardiovascular system.

For many decades, scientists from around the world have been studying arterial hypertension. According to research data, the results of which are published in specialized mass media, hypertension is the main cause of disability on our planet. Statistics indicate that arterial hypertension is very often the cause of death for patients who seek help from a medical institution too late.

Hypertension symptoms

The main symptom of hypertension is headache, this is due to constriction and spasm of the vessels of the brain. Also frequent symptoms of hypertension are tinnitus, flying "flies" and a veil before the eyes, general weakness, sleep disturbances, dizziness, a feeling of heaviness in the head, palpitations. The listed symptoms are observed at an early stage of hypertension and are neurotic in nature. At a later stage of hypertension, heart failure may occur due to constant overwork of the heart muscle due to high pressure.

Due to the progression of the painful process, a decrease in visual acuity, damage to the vessels of the brain from high blood pressure is possible, and this can lead to paralysis, a decrease in the sensitivity of the extremities, which occurs due to vasospasm, hemorrhage or thrombosis.

In addition, many hypertensive patients experience the following symptoms:

• bleeding from the nose;
• vomiting;
• loss of sleep;
• memory impairment;
• redness of the skin of the face with any physical effort;
• strong pressure on the eyes (it hurts patients to look around, so they prefer to rest and wait for the attack to retreat in silence with their eyes closed);
• fast heart rate;
• swelling;
• fast fatigability, etc.

Hypertension Causes and Risk Factors

The cause of hypertension is frequent, prolonged neuropsychic stress, prolonged stressful situations. Often a prerequisite for the occurrence of hypertension is work, during the performance of which a person is in constant emotional stress. People who have suffered a concussion are also more likely to develop hypertension. Hereditary predisposition can also be one of the causes of hypertension: if someone in the family suffered from such a disease, then the likelihood of developing hypertension increases several times.

Physical inactivity can be one of the main causes of hypertension. With age, when older people begin to acquire atherosclerosis and age-related changes in blood vessels occur, the development of hypertension can aggravate the problem, causing atherosclerosis to progress. This is a rather dangerous phenomenon, since with severe vasospasm, blood access to the brain, heart and kidneys becomes critically small. If there are plaques on the walls of blood vessels, then with severe vasospasm, blood may completely stop flowing to vital organs and circulate through the arteries. In this case, myocardial infarction or stroke occurs.

In women, the cause of hypertension can be a period of hormonal changes in the body during menopause. Table salt, or more precisely, the sodium contained in it, as well as smoking, alcohol abuse and excess weight also contribute to an increase in the load on the cardiovascular system.

The following factors can be ranked among the causes of hypertension:

• overweight due to metabolic disorders, endocrine diseases, a sedentary lifestyle, etc. (even minor deviations from the norm can cause problems with the heart and blood vessels, against which arterial hypertension will develop);
• regular emotional stress, finding the patient in stressful situations, depression, experienced tragedies, etc.;
• strong nervous tension caused by problems at work, in business;
• suffered brain injuries (accidents, falls, bruises, hypothermia);
• chronic diseases that have a negative effect on the cardiovascular system (diabetes, gout, rheumatoid arthritis);
• hereditary predisposition (according to statistics, children whose parents suffered from arterial hypertension often inherit these problems and already at a young age begin to observe the first symptoms of high blood pressure);
• viral and infectious diseases, the consequences of which can manifest themselves in the form of hypertension (meningitis, frontal sinusitis, sinusitis, etc.);
• age-related changes in blood vessels;
• high blood cholesterol levels, in which plaques form on the walls of blood vessels that interfere with normal blood circulation (spasms often occur in such vessels, which interfere with the flow of blood to vital organs and can provoke a stroke or heart attack);
• the climacteric state in which women who have overcome the 40-year mark are found (during significant hormonal changes in the body, latent diseases often begin to progress, against which arterial hypertension can develop);
• addictions (smoking, drinking large quantities of alcohol, excessive passion for coffee);
• daily salt intake in large quantities;
• a sharp increase in adrenaline in the blood;
• spending a long time at the computer;
• sedentary lifestyle;
• rare walks in the fresh air, etc.

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What are hypertensive crises?

A hypertensive crisis is the peak manifestation of hypertension. When blood pressure rises sharply, all of the above symptoms are observed, but nausea, vomiting, sweating and darkening of the eyes are added to them. Such crises can last from several minutes to several hours. Patients complain of rapid heartbeat, they are agitated and scared. In this condition, red spots may appear on the cheeks, sometimes during an attack there may be profuse urination or loose stools. Hypertensive crises occur most often after strong emotional stress in women during menopause, in the afternoon or at night.

There is another type of hypertensive crisis, which has a more severe course, its development is gradual, and in time it is quite long - it can torment a person for four to five hours or even several days. Such a crisis most often occurs in the later stages of the development of hypertension, and, as a rule, it occurs against the background of chronically high blood pressure. A severe crisis is very often accompanied by cerebral symptoms - for example, speech impairment, a failure in the sensitivity of the extremities can occur. Sometimes this crisis is accompanied by severe heart pain.

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Diagnosis of hypertension

In order to make an accurate diagnosis of a patient who has been diagnosed with signs of arterial hypertension, a specialist must carry out a set of diagnostic measures, including both laboratory and hardware examination. The purpose of the diagnosis is to determine the stage and degree of hypertension. Thanks to this data, the attending physician will be able to choose the most effective therapy.

Due to the fact that arterial hypertension in the first stage of its development is often asymptomatic, most patients arrive at a medical facility too late. In such cases, patients should be patient, since hypertension is very difficult to treat and can accompany a person throughout the rest of his life. In order not to waste precious time and receive timely medical assistance, you must carefully monitor your health and immediately respond to any alarm signals from the body.

At home, each person should regularly measure their blood pressure using a tonometer. The optimal values are 120/80, for the elderly, the permissible value is 130/90. An increase in systolic pressure by 5-10 units can be caused by changes in climatic conditions, too much physical and mental stress. Too much difference between the "upper" and "lower" pressure is also a cause for alarm - normally this figure should not exceed 50 units. If a person often observes jumps in blood pressure, he urgently needs to contact the nearest medical institution and get detailed advice from a narrow-profile specialist.

Hypertension stages

Modern medicine defines 3 stages of arterial hypertension:

1. Stage 1 is blood pressure 140–159 / 90–99 mm Hg. Art. The pressure can return from time to time to normal values, and then rise again;
2. Stage 2 is blood pressure, which fluctuates between 160-179 / 100-109 mm Hg. Art. The pressure is often understood and very rarely returns to normal;
3. 3rd stage - when the pressure rises to 180 and above / 110 mm Hg. Art. The pressure is almost constantly kept high, and its decrease can be a sign of a malfunction in the heart.

Stage 1 hypertension:

At the first stage of arterial hypertension, the patient may not feel strong changes in his body. Very often, the pressure, which, due to certain reasons, rises to 140/90 or 160/100, independently returns to the usual range (120/80).

It is possible to identify hypertension at the first stage only if the patient independently monitors his blood pressure. The compiled schedule will allow the specialist to draw certain conclusions and make an accurate diagnosis.

Stage 2 hypertension:

At the second stage, arterial hypertension is often accompanied by headaches, nausea, lethargy, general weakness, etc.

In patients, blood pressure rises and remains for a long time in the range from 160/100 to 180/110. Pressure on its own rarely returns to normal, therefore, patients need medication.

Stage 3 hypertension:

The third stage of arterial hypertension is considered the most dangerous, since with it in most patients the pressure can reach 180/110 and above. An unexpected decrease in blood pressure at the 3rd stage of hypertension by specialists can be regarded as a sign of a malfunction of the heart and serve as a reason for consulting a cardiologist. In patients, the symptoms of hypertension begin to manifest themselves clearly, which forces people to seek help from medical institutions.

This category of patients needs long-term treatment (often in a hospital setting), which includes taking special medications and undergoing physiotherapy.

With the disease, arterial hypertension in many patients (especially at stages 2 and 3) may experience hypertensive crises, during which blood pressure rises rapidly.

With such attacks, patients may experience the following symptoms:

• nausea and vomiting;
• heart pain;
• severe headaches;
• dizziness;
• increased sweating, etc.

A hypertensive crisis can end in a few minutes, or it can drag on for several hours. These patients need urgent medical attention.

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How is hypertension treated?

In the treatment of arterial hypertension, a specialist individually selects a course of drug therapy for each patient.

In most cases, the following drugs are prescribed for hypertension:

• Thiazide diuretics are drugs that reduce the level of fluid in the body, and, accordingly, blood pressure indicators;
• Sartans (angiotensin II receptor blockers) - modern drugs that have been used since the 90s, can reduce blood pressure for 24 hours after a single dose in the morning or evening;
• Calcium antagonists - are prescribed if cardiac abnormalities, arrhythmia, angina pectoris or severe cerebral atherosclerosis are observed.
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors - capable of expanding the cavity of blood vessels and arteries (these drugs prevent the development of vascular spasms and facilitate the work of the heart);
• Beta-blockers - normalize the heart rate (with increased pressure, the heart begins to work at an accelerated rate);
• Alpha-adrenergic receptor blockers, which are capable of very gently expanding peripheral vessels.

See also: Medicines used in hypertensive crisis

During treatment, patients should lead a calm lifestyle in which neither stress nor emotional overload is present. Patients need to spend more time in the fresh air, it is best to take long walks in the forest, in the park, by the reservoir. It is imperative to follow a diet, since proper nutrition is the key to successful treatment of arterial hypertension.

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The nutritional system for hypertension

With such a serious disease as hypertension, doctors strongly recommend that patients adhere to a diet. First of all, it is necessary to exclude from the daily diet foods and dishes in which "bad" cholesterol and salt are present in large quantities.

Patients with hypertension should refuse the following foods:

• fatty meats;
• lard;
• fried foods;
• smoked meats;
• pickles.

Fresh baked goods should be replaced with breadcrumbs, or bread should be eaten a few days after baking.

On the subject: Diet for hypertension: what can and cannot be eaten?

It is recommended to fill the daily diet of patients with foods that saturate the human body with vitamins, minerals and other useful substances, while preventing the development of cardiovascular diseases, and these are:

• vegetables;
• fruit;
• berries;
• greens;
• milk products;
• dietary meats;
• legumes;
• rice, buckwheat and other cereals.

Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist

Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".