High blood pressure without symptoms? What patients need to know about these common cognitive misconceptions about hypertension

An authoritative data survey shows that there are now about 1.1 billion hypertensive patients in the world , of which 300 million are Chinese. According to this data, China is the country with the largest number of hypertension patients in the world.

　　In all hypertensive patients, more than 90-95% are primary hypertension with extremely complicated etiology, and patients need long-term treatment.

　　However, many hypertensive patients have different cognitive misunderstandings about hypertension in their daily life. It seems that the misunderstanding has no impact on the body at present, but if it goes on like this, it may lead to a decrease in the treatment effect and even increase the possibility of hypertension complications. Therefore, it is very necessary to understand and stay away from the misunderstanding.

　　So the question is, what are the common misconceptions about high blood pressure?

1. No symptoms are fine

　　From a clinical point of view, the symptoms of hypertension vary from person to person. Most patients with early hypertension have no symptoms, or the symptoms are not obvious enough. For example, patients may experience dizziness, headache, neck stiffness, fatigue and palpitation. and many more. Some hypertensive patients experience increased blood pressure only after fatigue, mental stress, and emotional agitation.

　　But just because high blood pressure doesn't have symptoms doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. In fact, as long as you are sick , the continuously elevated blood pressure will affect the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems, heart, kidneys and other organs. If you do not actively treat it, it will only increase the chance of future complications;

2. High blood pressure requires lifelong medication

　　That's right, the vast majority of patients with essential hypertension, as long as they start blood pressure control treatment, will be long-term or even lifelong. However, this does not mean that all hypertensive patients need drug treatment. For example, secondary hypertension can be stopped after the primary disease is controlled and stabilized and blood pressure returns to normal.

　　In addition, mild patients with essential hypertension, after adjusting their life and diet, their blood pressure returns to normal, do not need long-term medication;

　　3. Antihypertensive drugs have side effects

　　This is also a common misunderstanding. Many people are worried about drug side effects and drug resistance in the process of medication. But in fact, the antihypertensive drugs that can be bought on the market are all marketed after strict clinical trials, and their side effects are completely clear .

　　If the patient does not feel any discomfort after taking the drug, it means that the drug is suitable for him. Moreover, antihypertensive drugs do not have the concept of drug resistance. As long as they are suitable for patients, they can be used for a long time or even for life;

　　4. The drug can be stopped when the blood pressure is normal

　　Many hypertensive patients blindly believe that as long as the blood pressure returns to normal, they can stop taking the drug. But in fact, after taking antihypertensive drugs for a period of time, blood pressure gradually stabilizes, which is actually the result of the drug still exerting its effect in the body. The half-life of different drugs is different.

　　However, the essence of antihypertensive drugs is not to treat high blood pressure, but to lower blood pressure . Once the patient stops taking the drug, it doesn't take long for the blood pressure to rise again.

　　Finally, it should be emphasized that the treatment of hypertension needs to be carried out comprehensively, although medication is the basis for lowering blood pressure. However, on this basis, patients also need to make adjustments in many aspects such as life, diet and exercise.

　　At the same time, patients should also regularly monitor blood pressure to understand the real situation of control. If you find that blood pressure continues to rise and does not drop, you should also seek medical advice in time to see if you need to change the drug or combine it.