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

According to Canadian Family Pharmacy experts in the field of vascular diseases, arterial hypertension most often appears due to circulatory disorders. Cardiac insufficiency also refers to the list of causes that provoke development of hypertension, which for such category of patients serves as harbinger of deadly diseases: blood stroke, heart attack, etc.

Arterial hypertension has negative effect on vessels of the patient, which in short time are narrowed and damaged. When blood flow is too strong, walls of vessels can not stand and burst, resulting in hemorrhage in patients. Hemorrhagic infarction occurs directly in the organ in which vessels have lost their elasticity and are prone to brittleness.

What is Hypertension?

Hypertension is a disease which main symptom is high blood pressure, which causes neuromuscular disorders of vascular tone. Most often, this disease occurs in people who are over 40, but recently hypertension has become significantly younger and is diagnosed in people of different ages. Hypertension often affects both men and women. This disease is one of the main causes of death in people with diseases of cardiovascular system.

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

Symptoms of Hypertension

The main symptom of hypertension is headache, this is due to narrowing and spasm of cerebral vessels. Also frequent symptoms of hypertension — noise in the ears, «flies» and veil before your eyes, general weakness, sleep disturbances, dizziness, feeling of heaviness in the head, palpitations. These symptoms are observed at an early stage of hypertension and are of neurotic in nature. At a later stage of hypertension, cardiac insufficiency may occur due to permanent overfatigue of heart muscle due to high blood pressure.

Hypertension

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

In addition, many hypertensive patients have the following symptoms:

  • nasal hemorrhages;
  • vomiting;
  • loss of sleep;
  • memory impairment;
  • redness of facial skin at any physical effort;
  • strong pressure on the eyes (it is painful to look around, so patients prefer to rest and wait for retreat of the attack in silence with their eyes closed);
  • rapid heart rate;
  • swelling;
  • fast fatigue, etc.

Causes of Hypertension and Risk Factors

The cause of hypertension is frequent, prolonged neuropsychiatric stresses, prolonged stressful situations. Often prerequisite for the onset of hypertension is work, in performance of which a person is in constant emotional stress. There is also a high probability of developing hypertension in people who have suffered concussion. Hereditary predisposition can also be one of the reasons for occurrence of hypertension: if someone in the family suffered from such a disease, probability of developing hypertension increases by several times.

One of the main causes of hypertension can be hypodynamia. With age, when older people begin to acquire atherosclerosis and age-related changes in blood vessels, development of hypertension can aggravate the problem by forcing atherosclerosis to progress. This is a rather dangerous phenomenon, since with strong spasm of blood vessels, blood access to brain, heart and kidneys becomes critically small. If there are plaques on the walls of blood vessels, then at strong spasm of blood vessels, blood can stop coming to vital organs and circulating through arteries. In this case, myocardial infarction or blood stroke occurs.

In women, the cause of hypertension may be period of hormonal changes in the body with menopause. Salt, and to be more precise, sodium, contained in it, as well as smoking, alcohol abuse and excess weight, also contribute to increasing load on cardiovascular system.

Causes of hypertension can include the following factors:

  • excess weight due to metabolic disorders, endocrine diseases, sedentary lifestyle, etc. (even minor deviations from the norm can cause problems with heart and blood vessels, on the background which arterial hypertension will develop);
  • regular emotional stress, stressful situations, depression, tragedy, etc .;
  • strong nervous tension caused by problems at work, in business (read how to treat nervous disorders — http://www.cfop.biz/nervous-breakdown-causes-and-symptoms.html);
  • traumas of brain (accidents, falls, bruises, hypothermia);
  • chronic diseases that have negative impact on cardiovascular system (diabetes, gout, rheumatoid arthritis);
  • hereditary predisposition (according to statistics, children whose parents suffered from arterial hypertension often inherit these problems and at young age begin to observe first symptoms of high blood pressure);
  • viral and infectious diseases, consequences of which can manifest themselves as hypertensive disease (meningitis, frontalitis, sinusitis, etc.);
  • age-related changes in blood vessels;
  • elevated blood cholesterol level, in which vascular walls form plaques that interfere with normal blood circulation (often spasms occur in these vessels which interferes with blood flow to vital organs and can trigger blood stroke or heart attack);
  • climacteric condition in women who have overcome the 40-year-old boundary (during the time of significant hormonal changes in the body, hidden diseases often begin to progress, on the background of which arterial hypertension may develop);
  • bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol in large quantities, excessive consumption of coffee);
  • daily consumption of salt in large quantities;
  • sharp increase in adrenaline in blood;
  • long time spent at the computer;
  • sedentary lifestyle;
  • rare walks in fresh air, etc.

What are Hypertensive Crises?

Hypertensive crisis is the peak manifestation of hypertension. When the blood pressure rises sharply, all of the above symptoms are observed, but nausea, vomiting, sweating and darkening in the eyes are added to them. Such crises can last from a few minutes to several hours. Patients complain of heart palpitations, they are nervous and frightened. In this condition, red spots can appear on cheeks, sometimes during attack there may be profuse urination or loose stool. Hypertensive crises most often appear 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 it is quite long in duration — it can torment a person for four to five hours or even several days. Such crisis most often occurs in later stages of development of hypertensive disease, and, as a rule, it occurs on the background of chronically high blood pressure. A severe crisis is often accompanied by cerebral symptoms — for example, speech can be disturbed, failure in sensitivity of limbs. Sometimes such crisis is accompanied by strong heartache.

Hypertension

Diagnosis of Hypertension

To make an accurate diagnosis of a patient who has symptoms of arterial hypertension, specialist should conduct a complex of diagnostic measures, including both laboratory and physical examination. The purpose of diagnosis is to determine the stage and extent of hypertension. Thanks to these data, attending physician will be able to choose the most effective therapy.

Due to the fact that arterial hypertension is often asymptomatic at the first stage of its development, most patients get to medical institution too late. In such cases, patients should be patient, since hypertension is very difficult to treat and can accompany a person for the rest of his life. In order not to lose precious time and get timely medical help, you need to closely monitor your health and immediately respond to any alarming signals from the body.

At home, each person must regularly measure blood pressure by means of blood pressure monitor. Optimal indicators are equal to 120/80, for elderly people allowable value is 130/90. Increase in systolic pressure by 5 — 10 units may be caused by changes in climatic conditions, too much physical and mental stress. Too large difference between «top» and «bottom» pressure is also a cause for concern — it should normally not exceed 50 units. If a person often observes changes in blood pressure, he needs to urgently go to the nearest medical institution and get a detailed consultation of a narrow-profile specialist.

Stages of Hypertension

Modern medicine defines 3 stages of arterial hypertension:

  • the 1st stage is arterial pressure of 140-159/90-99 mm Hg. Pressure can return from time to time to normal values, after which it can rise again;
  • the 2nd stage is arterial pressure, which ranges between 160-179/100-109 mm Hg. Pressure often rises and rarely returns to normal;
  • the 3rd stage is when pressure rises to 180 and above/110 mm Hg. Pressure almost constantly keeps high, and its decrease can be a sign of malfunction in heart.

1 Stage of Hypertension

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

To identify hypertension in the first stage is possible only if patient will independently monitor his blood pressure. Drawn up schedule will allow specialist to make certain conclusions and accurate diagnosis.

2 Stage of Hypertension

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

In patients, blood pressure rises and holds for a long time in the range from 160/100 to 180/110. Independently pressure rarely returns to normal, so patients need medications.

3 Stage of Hypertension

The third stage of arterial hypertension is considered to be the most dangerous, since with it in most patients pressure can reach 180/110 and above. Unexpected decrease in blood pressure at the third stage of hypertension by specialists can be regarded as a sign of malfunction in heart and serve as an occasion for consultation with cardiologist. In patients, symptomatic hypertension begins to manifest itself vividly, which forces people to seek help from medical institutions.

This category of patients needs long-term treatment (often in hospital), which involves admission of special medications and physiotherapy procedures.

In arterial hypertension, hypertensive crises can occur in many patients (especially in stages 2 and 3), during which pressure rises rapidly. At such attacks, patients may experience the following symptoms:

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

Hypertensive crisis can end in a few minutes, and can drag on for several hours. Such patients need emergency medical care.

How to Treat Hypertension?

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

hypertension

In most cases, the following Canadian Family Pharmacy medicines are prescribed for hypertension:

  1. thiazide diuretics — drugs that reduce level of fluid in the body, and, accordingly, blood pressure indicators;
  2. sartans (angiotensin II receptor blockers) — modern drugs that have been used since the 90s, allow reducing pressure 24 hours after a single dose in the morning or evening;
  3. calcium antagonists — appointed in case if there are violations of cardiac activity, arrhythmia, cardiac angina or severe cerebral atherosclerosis.
  4. angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors — able to expand cavity of blood vessels and arteries (these drugs prevent development of vasospasms and facilitate work of heart);
  5. beta-adrenoblockers — normalize heart rhythm (at increased blood pressure, heart starts to work in accelerated rhythm);
  6. blockers of alpha-adrenergic receptors, which are capable of very carefully expanding peripheral vessels.

During treatment, patients should lead a quiet lifestyle, in which there are no stresses or emotional overloads. Patients need more time to spend in the fresh air, it is best to make long walks in the woods, in the park, by the water. It is necessary to follow the diet, as proper nutrition is the key to successful treatment of arterial hypertension. Read more about how to keep a healthy lifestyle here — http://www.cfop.biz/healthy-lifestyle-with-canadian-pharmacy.html.