Arterial hypertension | How to lower high blood pressure and what to do if I have more than 13/9

But how much can we say that someone is hypertensive? According to the World Health Organization, hypertension is when the blood pressure in our blood vessels is too high (of 140/90 mmHg or more). Sometimes it does not cause symptoms and the only way to detect it is to take your blood pressure. That is why it is also known as ‘the silent disease’.

The perfect blood pressure

There are two values ​​for blood pressure: the first is the systolic pressure and corresponds to the moment in which the heart contracts or beats, while the second, the diastolic pressure, represents the pressure exerted on the vessels when the heart relaxes between one beat and another.

To establish the diagnosis of hypertension, measurements must be taken on two different days and in both readings the systolic pressure must be greater than or equal to 140 mmHg and the diastolic pressure greater than or equal to 90 mmHg, explains the WHO.

The best way to know if you have high blood pressure is to take it. If left untreated, hypertension can cause diseases such as kidney failure, heart disease, and stroke.

According to estimates, 46% of adults in the world are unaware that they have hypertension, according to the WHO, and in Spain 48% of patients seen in Primary Care consultations in Spain suffer from high blood pressure (HTN), according to the latest data from the IBERICAN Study, epidemiological research led by SEMERGEN.

Causes

The WHO points out that the risk of hypertension can increase due to advanced age, genetic causes, overweight or obesity, lack of physical activity, eating with too much salt or drinking too much alcohol and points out several methods to reduce it.

Thus, there are changes of habitssuch as eating healthier foods, quitting smoking, and getting more physical activity, which can help reduce blood pressurealthough some people may need medication.

How to lower high blood pressure

Most people with high blood pressure have no symptoms, although very high blood pressure can cause headache, blurred vision, chest pain, and other symptoms. There are changes in habits that help reduce high blood pressure, says the WHO, including:

• Eat a healthy, low-salt diet

• Lose weight

• Practice physical activity

• Give up smoking.

• If you have high blood pressure, your doctor may recommend taking one or more medications to lower it to a level that will depend on the other diseases you suffer from.

Basic habits within everyone’s reach

There are habit changes that can help people with hypertension reduce their blood pressure, some of them very basic and within everyone’s reach.

• Eat more fruits and vegetables

• Spend less time sitting

• Do physical activity, such as walking, running, swimming, dancing, or strength-gaining activities, such as lifting weights

– Practice at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity every week or 75 minutes of intense aerobic activity

– Do exercises to gain strength two days or more each week

• Lose weight if you are obese or overweight

• Reduce and manage stress

What not to do

By reducing hypertension we prevent myocardial infarctions, strokes and other health problems, so some behaviors should be avoided. This is what NOT to do.

• Taking too much salt (should not exceed 2 g per day)

• Eat foods with a lot of trans or saturated fats

• Smoking or otherwise using tobacco

• Drinking too much alcohol (maximum one drink for women and two for men)

• Not taking the medication or taking someone else’s.

Who should lower it even if it is 13/8

You will need to reduce the tension to less than 130/80 if you also have:

• Cardiovascular (heart) disease or stroke

• Diabetes (excess sugar in the blood)

• Chronic renal failure

• High risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

For most people, the goal is a blood pressure below 140/90.

Medicines

There are different types of medicines that are usually prescribed to reduce blood pressure:

• ACE inhibitors that relax blood vessels and prevent kidney damage, such as enalapril and lisinopril.

• Angiotensin II receptor blockers that relax blood vessels and prevent kidney damage, such as losartan and telmisartan.

• Calcium antagonists that relax blood vessels, such as amlodipine and felodipine.

• Diuretics that remove excess water from the body and reduce blood pressure, such as hydrochlorothiazide and chlorthalidone.

Symptoms in people who are 18/12

People who have very high blood pressure (180/120 or higher) may have these symptoms:

severe headache

Chest pain

Dizziness

Difficulty breathing

Nausea

Vomiting

Blurred vision or changes in vision

Anxiety

Confusion

Ringing in the ears

Nosebleed

If you have any of these symptoms and very high blood pressure, see a health professional immediately.

The only way to detect hypertension is to see a health professional to measure our blood pressure. It is a quick and painless process that we can also do ourselves with an automatic device, although it is important that a professional assess the existing risk and associated disorders.

Risk factor’s

Modifiable risk factors include unhealthy diets (excessive salt consumption, diets rich in saturated fats and trans fats, and insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables), physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol consumption, and overweight or obesity.

On the other hand, there are non-modifiable risk factors, such as a family history of hypertension, age over 65 years and the concurrence of other diseases, such as diabetes or kidney disease.

Damage it causes: the consequences

Among other complications, hypertension can cause serious heart damage. Excess pressure can harden the arteries, reducing the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. Increased pressure and reduced blood flow can cause:

• Chest pain (angina pectoris).

• Myocardial infarction, which occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked and heart muscle cells die due to lack of oxygen. The longer the obstruction lasts, the more significant the damage to the heart will be.

• Heart failure, which occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to other vital organs.

• Irregular heart rhythm, which can lead to sudden death.

• Hypertension can also cause blockage or rupture of the arteries that carry blood and oxygen to the brain, causing a stroke.

• Likewise, it can cause kidney damage that leads to kidney failure.

Warning message

On the occasion of World Hypertension Day, SEMERGEN wanted to convey to the population the importance of knowing blood pressure levels to prevent, detect and treat diseases caused by high blood pressure, since it is the main risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. both in Spain and in the world.

According to the study, the main cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) in the Spanish adult population assisted in Primary Care are abdominal obesity (55.6%), dyslipidemia (50.3%) and high blood pressure (48%). Another notable aspect is that obesity and diabetes mellitus were, in the multivariate analysis, the variables that were most strongly associated with the presence of arterial hypertension.

«The most effective measure to know if we have high blood pressure is to measure our blood pressure numbers. It is an easy, non-painful measure that is done in Primary Care consultations throughout Spain countless times every day,” Pallarés highlighted.

The IBERICAN study (Identification of the Spanish Population at Cardiovascular and Renal Risk) is, according to SEMERGEN, the most important research project on morbidity and mortality in Spain. It is an epidemiological, prospective, multicenter, observational and longitudinal study in which more than 500 researchers participate and which has recruited 8,066 patients in health centers throughout the national territory. Its objective is to analyze the prevalence, incidence and geographical distribution of cardiovascular risk factors in the Spanish adult population assisted in Primary Care.