Death from hypertension

Some statistics

If the patient is diagnosed with hypertension, death often becomes the end of this insidious disease. The initial symptoms cannot be ignored. If you feel unwell, you should seek medical advice from a doctor. Treatment of the disease at the initial stage will help to avoid serious consequences and save a person's life.

Hypertension is one of the most common diseases. More than 5% of the world's population suffers from this disease, which means that every third adult in the world has experienced symptoms of high blood pressure.

In Russia, the pathology was detected in 41% of adult patients. The average life expectancy for men diagnosed with hypertension is 62 years, for women - 73 years. For comparison, in Western countries this threshold starts at 75 for both sexes.

Pathology can be observed in both men and women. If 20 years ago, hypertension became a companion of the elderly, today the disease is often observed in young people not older than 40 years. In order to understand why hypertension is dangerous, and what destructive consequences it brings to a person's life, we will understand its concept and the factors that cause the development of this disease. Distinctive characteristics of hypertension are sharp surges in blood pressure. Depending on the form of the pathology, the patient's pressure may periodically increase, or be increased constantly. In a healthy person, as a rule, indicators are equal to 120/80 mm Hg.

Hypertension develops as a result of narrowing of the smallest blood vessels that provide blood access to vital organs and systems. The heart in such a situation works with a double load in order to normalize the work of the circulatory system.

Residents of economically developed countries and large industrial cities are more likely to suffer from hypertension. A tight work schedule often prevents a person with high blood pressure from seeking medical attention on time. Unfortunately, such delay can provoke premature death at any time. That is why in our country mortality rates from hypertension are increasing every year.

Why does death occur from hypertension?

In medical practice, it is customary to distinguish between 3 stages of the course of the disease. In the first case, the indicators of the upper pressure can fluctuate in the range of 140-160 mm. mercury column, while the marks of the lower boundary are 90 mm. mercury column. Patients note sharp jumps, but the indicators can return to normal on their own, and after a while they rise again.

The second stage of hypertension can be called moderate. The upper pressure limits can rise up to 180 mm Hg. In this case, the lower pressure can be increased to 110. This condition cannot return to normal on its own, and very often the moderate form flows into stage 3 of hypertension, which is considered extremely severe and is characterized by increased indicators - 180/110 mm Hg.

So that as many people as possible can avoid this disease, experts voice the factors leading to the onset of pathology:

• overweight;
• bad habits, including alcohol abuse and smoking;
• heredity;
• an inactive lifestyle without enough physical activity;
• high levels of cholesterol in the body.

If a person who wants to live with excess weight, bad habits and an inactive way can cope with such a factor as heredity, it remains to accept and allow the doctor to prescribe the appropriate treatment. The action of such therapy is aimed at suppressing the symptoms that arise against the background of hypertension.

If the patient does not seek qualified medical care, then in this case the likelihood of a hypertensive crisis increases. This condition is characterized by varying degrees of severity, which become the causes of pulmonary edema, cerebral edema, cerebral hemorrhage, myocardial infarction and even death.

How does this happen?

Severe pain in the occipital region or temples, and pressing sensations in the chest become vivid symptoms of hypertension. If the patient feels an increase in such manifestations, this may be direct evidence of a hypertensive crisis. It is worth noting that heart pain can be different: pressing, aching, tingling.

Dizziness, heart palpitations, tinnitus, and the appearance of blackheads in front of the eyes may be added to the listed symptoms. With an attack of a hypertensive crisis, there is a pathogenic change in the level of blood pressure and a disturbance in the work of the cardiovascular system. It can exacerbate existing heart diseases, and provoke irreversible processes in the brain. Women are more likely to suffer pathologies than men.

Mortality in hypertensive crisis is primarily associated with the lack of timely treatment. The main causes of death for patients are:

• myocardial infarction;
• left ventricular failure;
• ischemic stroke;
• kidney damage.

Medical statistics are disappointing. As a result of pathologies that provoke a hypertensive crisis, the patient's chances of life are reduced to 10% out of 100. A hypertensive crisis can last for a patient from several minutes to a couple of hours, but this time is enough for the development of serious consequences of such a condition. At this moment, the patient's heart rate rises, the psychoemotional state is aggravated. He may develop extensive red spots on his cheeks, and profuse discharge of urine and feces.

Often, patients have a more severe crisis. The patient's condition worsens gradually, the process can last 5-6 hours in a row and is characterized by acute heart pains, refusal of arms and legs, impaired vision and speech. A hypertensive crisis often affects elderly people and occurs as a result of a sharp jump in blood pressure.

A complicated crisis is the cause of a stroke in hypertension and even sometimes leads to death. This is facilitated by arteriosclerosis, excess cholesterol in the blood, and alcohol abuse. Ischemia is an equally common cause of death.

How to prevent death?

A hypertensive crisis is a dangerous complication of hypertension and requires immediate medical attention. Hypertensive patients and their families always need to remember that a serious condition can occur at any time, and the further outcome will depend on how quickly the patient is assisted.

A factor in the development of a hypertensive crisis can be:

• refusal to take antihypertensive drugs that normalize blood pressure;
• constant psycho-emotional stress;
• a sharp change in the weather;
• great physical activity and lack of proper rest after them;
• alcohol intoxication;
• too salty or spicy food.

The mistake of patients is the opinion that the hypertensive crisis will pass if the pressure indicators are brought back to normal. A sharp decrease in indicators can lead to irreversible processes: the development of coronary artery disease, changes in the structure of the brain. Medical specialists are sure that it is very important to lower blood pressure gradually, then it will be possible to get out of this state with the least complications.

To reduce mortality, physicians usually educate their patients and their families on how to provide first aid when a hypertensive crisis develops.

Emergency care that helps prevent the death of a person with hypertension is as follows:

• Eliminate panic. As a rule, at the time of a crisis, the patient begins to experience panic, and the task of the person who is next to such a patient is to calm him down, since anxiety only provokes an increase in pressure.
• Restore breathing. The patient should be asked to take several deep breaths and exhalations. It is recommended to open a window. This is necessary so that the room is filled with fresh air.
• Provide the patient with peace of mind. He needs help to take a half-sitting position on the bed, if necessary, so that he does not fall over, put pillows.
• Bring you to your senses. Collect cold water in a heating pad and apply it to the patient's forehead, and put bottles of hot water in the legs.
• Give medication. You should immediately give the patient a pill of the medicine prescribed by a cardiologist to stabilize blood pressure. If the patient begins to experience chest pain, an ambulance should be called urgently. While waiting for the arrival of a medical team, hypertensive patients should be given 3 tablets of nitroglycerin with an interval of 5 minutes between doses.

In a first-aid kit for a hypertensive patient, there should always be such drugs as Captopril, Nifedipine. As soon as the patient has symptoms of a hypertensive crisis, he should be allowed to dissolve half of the Captopril tablet. If, after 30 minutes after taking the drug, the patient's well-being has not improved, you can give another half of the tablet for resorption. If after the second dose there is no improvement, immediately call an ambulance.

With the onset of a hypertensive crisis, it is necessary to measure blood pressure as often as possible. If the blood pressure remains high, and the patient is experiencing severe chest pain and dizziness, this can be a warning sign of a heart attack, so you should immediately call an ambulance. The doctors who came to the call stop the hypertensive crisis by injecting intramuscular drugs that stabilize blood pressure. In severe cases, the patient is hospitalized in a cardiological hospital, where he is examined by a neurologist who confirms or excludes a stroke. The patient is prescribed an MRI procedure, an electrocardiogram, and biochemical studies of urine and blood.

Constant monitoring of blood pressure and taking antihypertensive drugs will help to avoid the development of such a dangerous condition as a hypertensive crisis. Hypertensive patients need to measure their blood pressure every day and record the results in a diary. Even one omission of the necessary medications can provoke the development of irreversible consequences in the form of a lethal outcome.