Essential hypertension

Essential hypertension (hypertension) is the most common form of hypertension. Consider what is essential hypertension, what are the manifestations of this disease, and how it is treated.

What is essential hypertension?

Essential arterial hypertension is the primary form of the disease, the diagnosis of which is made by eliminating secondary hypertension. This is a chronic pathology associated with increased blood pressure. In its development, a number of factors can be involved, including:

• hereditary predisposition due to a gene mutation;
• smoking, alcohol abuse;
• consumption of a large amount of salt (excess sodium);
• lack of certain vitamins and microelements;
• obesity ;
• hypodynamia;
• frequent stress;
• old age, etc.

Symptoms of essential hypertension

The disease often occurs asymptomatically, and the only specific manifestation of it for a long time can only be high blood pressure. Borderline is considered to be the value of systolic ("upper") blood pressure 140-159 mm Hg. Art. and diastolic - 90-94 mm Hg. Art.

In some cases, in the early stages of patients, the following periodic signs occur:

• headache in the forehead or occiput;
• dizziness;
• cardiopalmus;
• noise in the ears ;
• double vision in the eyes.

This symptomatology is amplified during a sharp rise in blood pressure (hypertensive crisis). Over time, irreversible changes in internal organs and arterial vessels are formed. Target organs are: heart, brain, kidneys.

Stages of essential hypertension:

1. Light - characterized by a periodic increase in blood pressure (diastolic pressure - more than 95 mm Hg). Normalization of hypertension is possible without the use of drugs.
2. Moderate - characterized by a stable increase in blood pressure (diastolic pressure - 105-114 mm Hg). At this stage, arteriolar narrowing, venule enlargement, hemorrhage on the fundus can be detected in the absence of other pathologies.
3. Heavy - characterized by a stable increase in blood pressure (diastolic pressure - more than 115 mm Hg). Arterial pressure is not normalized even after the crisis is resolved. At this stage, changes in the fundus become more pronounced, arterio- and arteriolosclerosis, left ventricular hypertrophy, cardiosclerosis develop. Appear pathological changes in other internal organs.

Treatment of essential hypertension

The main goal in the treatment of essential hypertension is to minimize the risk of cardiovascular and other complications, as well as death from them. To this end, it is required not only to reduce blood pressure to normal levels, but also to minimize all risk factors. Treatment of this pathology is carried out for many years.

Patients are encouraged to change their lifestyle, namely:

1. Refuse from drinking alcohol and smoking.
2. Normalize body weight.
3. Normalize the mode of work, rest and sleep.
4. Give up a sedentary lifestyle.
5. Reduce the intake of table salt.
6. Observe a diet with a predominance of plant foods and a decrease in the intake of animal fats.

Drug therapy implies the use of antihypertensive drugs, which are divided into several classes:

• diuretics;
• calcium antagonists;
• agonists of imidazoline receptors;
• inhibitors of the angiotensin-converting enzyme;
• antagonists of receptors for angiotensin II;
• α and β-adrenoblockers.

Selection of the drug (or a combination of several drugs) is performed by the doctor depending on the stage of the disease, the age of patients, concomitant diseases.