Complications that may be encountered if hypertension is not treated

The article was consulted professionally by Master, Dr Do Nguyen Thuy Doan Trang – Head of Out-of-Body Recycling Team – Cardiovascular Center – Share99 Central Park International Health Hub. The doctor is a leading expert in Extra-Body Recycling in cardiac surgery and cardiac resuscitation, cardiovascular medical treatment.

Unmanageable and well-controlled hypertension will lead to severe damage to the target organ and cause dangerous complications such as cerebral vascular accidents, myocardial infarction, stroke, aneurysms separated into aortic arteries, heart failure, kidney failure … even leads to death.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)The American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) in 2017 suffered from a targeted hypertension increase when the blood pressure measurement index was lower than 1430/980mmHg. At the same time, who and the Council of World Pressure Tanks (ISH) in 2020 have divided THA as follows:

• Increase level I: Normally high: when blood pressure is between 130-139 and/or 85-89 mmHg;
• Increase level II: when blood pressure is from 140 – 175/100 – 100-99mmHg
• Increase level III: when blood pressure is 160/110mmHg or more.

The European Heart Association (ESC/ESH 2018) stipulates that the target blood pressure is blood pressure below 140/90mmHg, particularly for people with diabetes mellitus, the target blood pressure must be less than 130/80mmHg.

However, the blood pressure of an average person also has a pronounced fluctuation, blood pressure usually rises from morning wake to 10 am and increases more or less depending on movement and mental state. Therefore, at sleep blood pressure will be lower than normal working about 20mmHg, higher than in the afternoon is 10%.

Hypertension is dangerous but has few symptoms, so many people do not know if they have hypertension but happen to have regular check-up or for some reason detect hypertension.

However, in some cases there are symptoms such as nervousness, feeling the heart beating strongly, headache, dizziness for a moment, red face, sweating …

Some cases of hypertension have symptoms such as nervousness, feeling the heart beating strongly, headache, dizziness for a moment, red face, sweating …

Hypertension is dangerous because there is a risk of complications such as:

• Cardiovascular complications

Long-term hypertension damages the endotriosis layer of the coronary artery, making low-weight cholesterol (Cholesterol-LDL) molecules easily pass from the vascular wall to the vessel wall, then forming atherosclerosis plaque and narrowing blood vessels, especially coronary arteries.

When there is a lot of coronary artery stenosis, the patient will feel chest pain, chest pain when exertion, when much movement, climbing stairs, pain decreases when the patient stops exertion.

If atherosclerosis plaque cracks, ruptures, then in the heart of the coronary artery forms a thrombosis, clogging the coronary artery, which causes the patient to have a myocardial infarction. When suffering from myocardial infarction, the person will feel severe pain in front of the chest, shortness of breath, sweating, pain that can spread to the neck, left hand and back.

• Hypertension makes the heart muscle hypertrophic

Patients with myocardial infarction due to hypertension will have a dead, non-contractiable area of the heart muscle, leading to heart failure. Long-term hypertension makes the heart muscle hypertrophic, otherwise being treated for hypertension will also lead to heart failure.

• Brain complications

Cerebral hemorrhage:When hypertension leads to a cerebral vascular accident, the cerebral blood vessels will not withstand the pressure that leads to rupture, causing a stroke of the cerebral vessels. At that time, the patient has a brain haemorrhage that causes he/sheer paralysis or complete paralysis, which can be fatal. Symptoms of the patient depend on the hemorrhage area large or small, and depending on the location of the hemorrhage area.

Cerebral infarction, cerebral emulsion: Hypertension narrows the blood vessels that feed the brain (similar to coronary damage), if the atherosclerosis plaque cracks, ruptures, forms a blood clot, clogging the cerebral blood vessels causing the death of a brain region also known as cerebral infarction, cerebral emulsion.

Cerebral anemia :Hypertension narrows the carnic artery, cerebral artery, causing blood pumping into the brain is not enough to make the patient feel dizzy, dizzy, sometimes unconscious.

In people with hypertension that blood pressure does not lower at night or excessively lowers or soars at any time (most often in the morning) is a disadvantage because it is very susceptible to a stroke.

People who have a stroke due to hypertension can die if the emergency is not timely or are in a coma with plant life, if overcome, it will leave severe neurological symptoms such as he/she is paralyzed, walking, speaking difficult, memory loss, confusion ….

• Kidney complications

Hypertension damages the membranes of kidney cells, causing patients to urinate proteins (normally not available), long-term causes kidney failure.

Hypertension also narrows the renal arteries, causing the kidneys to secrete more Renin substances causing higher blood pressure, if there is a long-term narrowing of the renal artery will cause kidney failure.

• Eye complications

Hypertension will damage the retinal blood vessels, thick and hard artery wall narrows the vessels. If there is a process of sclerosis of the vessel, the artery will pinch the vein and obstruct the veins so that the patient can damage the eyes and progress in stages.

Hypertension also hemorrhages the retina, visual edema, and reduces vision, which can even lead to blindness.

• Complications of peripheral circuitry

Hypertension will cause the aortic to enlarge and can dissect, rupture the aortic city resulting in death.

Hypertension also narrows the pelvic artery, leg artery, femoral artery. When the lower limbs artery is much narrowed, the patient will have symptoms of walking a long way, the leg pain, having to stand back.

• stroke

In people with hypertension that blood pressure does not lower at night or excessively lowers or soars at any time (most often in the morning) is a disadvantage because it is very susceptible to a stroke.

People with stroke hypertension can die if the emergency is not timely or in a coma with plant life, if overcome, it will leave severe neurological symptoms such as he/she is paralyzed, walking, speaking difficult, memory loss, confusion ….

In people with hypertension where blood pressure does not lower at night or excessively lowers or soars at any time (most often in the morning) is a disadvantage because it is very susceptible to a stroke

• Diabetes complications

Hypertension and diabetes are two separate diseases but they are quite intimately related to each other, often going hand in hand. Having had hypertension is very susceptible to diabetes and vice versa. When you have both, the risk of complications is very high and makes it difficult to treat the disease.

The vast majority of patients with hypertension often have no warning signs. Many patients feel completely normal, due to accidental medical examination to know the disease. Therefore, regular blood pressure checks, especially those at high risk (such as older age, obesity, sedity, in families with relatives with high blood pressure …) are essential and important.

The goal of treating hypertension is to keep the patient's blood pressure stable at the allowable level, usually below 140/90 mmHg for general targeted blood pressure levels. However, for patients with both hypertension and diabetes or chronic kidney disease, the doctor will recommend a more rigorous course of treatment to keep blood pressure stable at less than 130/80 mmHg.

3.1 Lifestyle changes

This is a non-medicinal measure, which occupies an important role in the general course of treatment. On the advice of doctors, patients can control blood pressure by:

• Dietary adjustments: healthier and low in salt (less than 6g/day);
• Exercise regularly, moderately;

• Try to maintain an ideal weight, lose weight according to the instructions;
• Stop or minimize alcohol consumption, quit smoking;
• Avoid sudden cold infections
• Good control of related diseases;
• Use drugs for hypertension in accordance with the instructions of the doctor;
• Regularly monitor changes in blood pressure at home with the appropriate meter.

3.2 Medications for hypertension

If lifestyle changes do not bring many benefits in improving the condition, your doctor will consider giving your patients prescription medications. Take medication regularly to stabilize blood pressure. Treatment of hypertension is a lifelong treatment. Do not voluntarily stop treatment, it is necessary to consult a cardiologist.

3.3 Treatment of hypertension in case of emergency

Some cases of emergency hypertension need to be treated immediately in the emergency room or intensive care room, as at this time the risk of patient death is quite high. Patients may receive oxygen breathing and take emergency antitension medications to quickly improve the situation.

Share99 International Health Hub implements a basic to advanced hypertension examination package to help customers proactively check and control risks, complications and levels of hypertension.

The examination package is applicable to obese patients who have a habit of eating salty, salty, regularly smoking, have a history of hypertension…. Especially the older the person, the higher the risk of hypertension, so it is recommended to screen for hypertension as soon as possible.