If not diagnosed and treated, it can cause severe complications, such as heart attack or stroke. What it is, what are the symptoms and how to prevent it.
On Friday, May 17, World High Blood Pressure Day is celebrated, a date that seeks to raise awareness about this condition and promote efforts to prevent, diagnose and control it. Internationally, almost half of hypertensive adults are unaware of their condition and only one in five has the problem under control. This is stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), which also highlights that hypertension is one of the main causes of premature death in the world. In Argentina, it is estimated that one in three adults suffers from high blood pressure, the effects of which can be devastating in the long term: heart attack, stroke, kidney damage and dementia.
What is hypertension? It is a common and treatable disease that affects the entire blood vessel system. It is produced by the increase, sustained over time, in blood pressure; that is, the force that the blood exerts on the walls of the arteries. We speak of high blood pressure when blood pressure values are above 140 and/or 90 millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
Why does hypertension increase the risk of heart disease? “Because hypertension causes the heart to have to work hard all the time,” explains Dr. Sebastián Obregón, head of the Center for Arterial Hypertension and Cardiovascular Aging at the Austral University Hospital.
“It’s like riding a bicycle always uphill: the heart makes it but it makes an immense effort that wears out its mechanisms until, finally, it gives up,” continues the specialist.
“The heart first strengthens itself, that is, it trains as if it were doing weights, but finally the muscles become exhausted and wear and tear of the structure occurs, causing the heart to dilate and lose effectiveness. It is as if our legs that push the bicycle no longer have the necessary strength; and what happens then is heart failure,” explains Obregón.
What factors cause high blood pressure?
“Today we already know that genetics is involved, but since it is such a prevalent disease, affecting almost 1.5 billion people around the world, it is difficult to think that only genes are determining factors. Clearly there is a causal relationship with the consumption of sodium, a metal that – when interacting with calcium – causes the arteries to contract,” continues Obregón, adding that “excessive sodium intake also affects the bacteria that are in our body. intestine and protect us from inflammation, in addition to accelerating brain functions and causing internal stress.”
Another cause of hypertension is a sedentary lifestyle. In this regard, Obregón says that “when a person does physical activity, the number of open and active blood vessels is greater, then the same volume of blood is distributed over a greater surface area and the pressure drops.”
Overweight and obesity are also factors that affect, since “they force the heart to exert more force to distribute more blood in a body of increased size, which causes an increase in the impact of the amount of blood on the walls of the arteries. and, therefore, the blood pressure in the system.”
Chronic stress, environmental pollution and noise pollution are other causes of hypertension, as are sudden changes in temperature, something increasingly important in Argentina due to the alteration of our subtropical climate.
What are the symptoms of high blood pressure? “We say that high blood pressure is the great simulator of problems because it does not give any specific symptoms,” says the specialist. In fact, most of the time there are no symptoms and, for this reason, the disease can go unnoticed for many years. Some common discomforts resulting from hypertension are: shortness of breath when exercising, fatigue, chest pain, severe headache, irregular heartbeat, changes in vision, and others.
In what ways can hypertension be prevented? Obregón says: “One of the main recommendations is to reduce sodium consumption, something key in Argentina, where triple the recommended sodium is consumed to avoid high blood pressure. Other strategies for prevention are maintaining a healthy weight and doing some physical activity daily, aerobic – which allows the muscles to adequately consume the energy accumulated from sugars and fats – and strength – for muscle development. Let us not forget that, in addition, sports activities have the additional benefit of sociability which, in the long term, also increases the survival of patients with cardiovascular pathology.”
How often is it advisable to check yourself? “People over 16 years of age should have an annual blood pressure check, either by self-measurement or through a health agent, in order to know what their clinical situation is,” says Dr. Obregón, to The pair points out: “The level of ignorance that people have about their own blood pressure is really alarming.” In this regard, he warns that the Arterial Hypertension Center of the Austral University Hospital has a nurse-teacher, Zaira Alvarenga, who together with the doctors generates educational content so that patients can carry out adequate monitoring and control of their blood pressure. Nowadays it is extremely important that the patient is actively involved in their health management, self-monitoring with automated and internationally validated equipment.”
About the Arterial Hypertension Center of the Austral University Hospital. It is a pioneering center in the field, whose staff is dedicated to the detailed study of high blood pressure and the often difficult task of establishing its causes. It offers a multidisciplinary service aimed at understanding the clinical situation with a team of cardiologists, clinicians, endocrinologists, nephrologists, nursing and nutrition, which seeks to generate greater awareness about the problem of high blood pressure and its appropriate management in patients.
“At the Austral University Hospital, there is a research and monitoring protocol for the implementation of clinical practice guidelines for the management of high blood pressure, which is managed by Dr. Tatiana Lemo. Likewise, we are developing different lines of research to advance the pathology. Dr. Santiago Medina Walker, for example, is leading a project focused on a specific population: young women, usually underdiagnosed, for adequate treatment that, for example, does not affect their pregnancies. Dr. Joon-Ho Bang, for his part, carries out research on the heart and arteries in terms of strength, for the prevention of major arrhythmias. Meanwhile, Dr. Ana Di Leva together with Dr. Agustina de Palma are dedicated to the study of the relationship of hypertensive patients with cholesterol and diabetes problems. In this regard, nutritionist Rocío Archain focuses on prevention strategies from a nutritional point of view,” details Obregón, head of the Arterial Hypertension Center at the Austral University Hospital, where progress is also being made in projects that involve artificial intelligence to capitalize on new technologies.