What will happen if you insist on taking antihypertensive drugs for a long time? After taking medicine for 25 years, he gave 2 pieces of advice

According to the "China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2019", there are as many as 245 million hypertensive patients in China, of which 40.7% are taking antihypertensive drugs for treatment, and only 15.3% of patients have controlled hypertension.

The vast majority of hypertensive patients may have to take antihypertensive drugs for a lifetime, but many patients worry that taking medicine for a long time will harm the body?

1. He insisted on taking antihypertensive drugs for 25 years and gave advice

Lao Hu was diagnosed with high blood pressure more than 20 years ago. The doctor prescribed antihypertensive drugs for him and asked him to take them persistently . No smoking, no drinking, no medicine.

Not long after, Lao Hu was admitted to the hospital one day because of dizziness. The doctor said that his blood pressure was still too high, 150/90mmHg, and he had to take medicine.

So Lao Hu began to take antihypertensive drugs according to the doctor's advice. At first, he took the most common nifedipine tablets. Later, there were more types of antihypertensive drugs, and he began to switch to amlodipine and valsartan.

Today, Lao Hu is almost 80 years old, and his body is still very good, without any complications caused by high blood pressure. As a senior hypertensive patient, Lao Hu insisted on taking antihypertensive drugs for 25 years, and gave two pieces of advice based on his own experience:

Advice 1: To control blood pressure, listen to the doctor

Lao Hu knew a friend who didn't care about it after he was diagnosed with high blood pressure. He didn't insist on taking antihypertensive drugs. Sometimes I also take some health products that claim to lower blood pressure, or follow the trend of medicine, but I did not expect to be admitted to the hospital because of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage.

It was also this experience of my friend that made Lao Hu dispel the idea of ​​not taking antihypertensive drugs.

Now there are various health care products on the market for reducing blood pressure, such as blood pressure reducing watches, blood pressure reducing pillows, blood pressure reducing insoles, etc. In fact , the efficacy of health care products has not been scientifically certified , and it is easy to delay the treatment of high blood pressure.

In addition, some hypertensive patients hear that other patients have become normal after taking Everyone is different , and what works for others may not necessarily work for you.

Advice 2: Taking medicine and measuring blood pressure are indispensable

In addition to insisting on taking antihypertensive drugs every day, Lao Hu also insists on measuring blood pressure after getting up every morning. He knows enough about his blood pressure control, which also allows Lao Hu to manage his blood pressure very well. For decades, he has been healthy and healthy.

Some hypertensive patients only take medicine when their blood pressure is high, and stop taking medicine once their blood pressure is normal. This wrong way of taking medicine will cause blood pressure to fluctuate all the time. Stopping medicine will make blood pressure rise again, causing cerebral infarction, heart attack, etc. Complications such as stroke are prone to occur when blood pressure fluctuates.

In addition, there are some hypertensive patients who do not have the habit of measuring blood pressure, and feel that it is enough to feel good about themselves, but sometimes their feelings are inconsistent with the severity of the disease. Therefore, hypertensive patients must not only insist on taking medicine, but also insist on measuring blood pressure .

2. Will taking antihypertensive drugs every day cause damage to the kidneys and liver?

Many hypertensive patients worry that taking antihypertensive drugs for a long time will affect the health of the liver and kidneys. The six commonly used antihypertensive drugs currently used in clinical practice have the following effects on the liver and kidneys.

Diuretics: Such as thiazide diuretics, thiazide-like diuretics, aldosterone antagonists, etc., are all antihypertensive drugs that do not damage the liver and kidneys.

Calcium antagonists: For example, the common dipine antihypertensive drugs have no damage to the liver and kidney. No matter how severe the renal failure is, it will not affect its use. The decline in renal function will not affect its excretion, but it needs to pass Hepatic metabolism, so patients with impaired liver function should reduce the dose.

β-receptor blockers: such as metoprolol, bisoprolol, arolol, etc., the dose should be reduced after liver function is impaired .

α-receptor blockers: less commonly used, most of them are excreted through the intestines, only a small part needs to be excreted through the kidneys, there is no damage to the liver and kidneys, and the impairment of liver and kidney functions does not affect its use.

Primopril-type antihypertensive drugs: For example, fosinopril needs to be excreted through the liver and kidneys, so patients with impaired liver and kidney function should reduce the dose; Patients with impaired renal function should reduce the dose.

Sartan-type antihypertensive drugs: Most sartan-type antihypertensive drugs are excreted through the intestinal tract and biliary tract, and only a small part is excreted through the kidneys, so impaired liver and kidney function does not affect their use.

In fact, a large number of clinical studies have shown that regular and rational use of medication to treat high blood pressure will not cause damage to the body . On the contrary, if the blood pressure is not well controlled, it will cause more damage to the kidneys.

Then why do some people think that taking medicine will hurt the kidneys and liver?

On the one hand, it is because some patients themselves suffer from liver and kidney diseases and have problems after taking antihypertensive drugs; , eventually causing the problem.

3. When is the best time to take antihypertensive drugs? The Lancet has new findings

On October 11 this year, a study was published in The Lancet, and it was found that taking antihypertensive drugs before going to bed at night (8:00 to 12:00) was associated with taking antihypertensive drugs in the morning (6:00 to 10:00). There is no significant difference in the main cardiovascular outcomes , so patients can choose a fixed time according to their own conditions, and routinely take their own antihypertensive drugs to reduce the occurrence of adverse reactions.

Normally, blood pressure will continue to rise when you wake up in the morning, peak at 9:00 am to 11:00 am, and then slowly decline; it will rise again at 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and then decrease again in the evening. After falling asleep, it showed a continuous downward trend, and the blood pressure was the lowest at 2:00 to 3:00 in the morning.

However, there are also some patients whose blood pressure fluctuations are not in this pattern. You can find the peak blood pressure according to blood pressure monitoring, and take the medicine 2 hours before the peak blood pressure occurs.

Medication frequency and time (Source: Medical Cardiovascular Channel)

4. Do these 3 things well to help you control your blood pressure

If you want to control your blood pressure well, in addition to taking antihypertensive drugs scientifically, you can also help control your blood pressure in other ways.

1. DASH diet

A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association showed that the DASH diet was the best for controlling blood pressure. The DASH diet is also known as the "hypertension diet."

The general principle of the DASH diet is to focus on whole grains and vegetables, and to consume enough fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk in the diet, to maintain sufficient intake of calcium, magnesium, and potassium, and to minimize the amount of fat intake , especially animal fats rich in saturated fatty acids, can effectively control blood pressure.

2. Control your weight

Generally speaking, blood pressure increases with weight gain, and being overweight can further increase blood pressure.

Weight control is one of the important ways of life to control blood pressure. For obese or overweight people, losing 1 kg of body weight may reduce blood pressure by about 1 mm Hg. It is best to control the body mass index (BMI) within the range of 18.5 kg/m2~23.9kg/m2.

3. Regular exercise

Exercise helps to control the blood pressure level of hypertensive patients. At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity regular exercise per week may reduce blood pressure by 5mm Hg to 8mm Hg.

It is recommended that hypertensive patients perform moderate-intensity exercise for 30-60 minutes a day, 4-7 days a week, such as jogging, walking, swimming, etc., in addition to activities of daily life.

In short, hypertension is a lifelong chronic disease. In addition to taking medicine according to the doctor's advice, patients also need to take a variety of comprehensive measures to help lower blood pressure.

References:

[1] "Will you take antihypertensive drugs?" ". Medical Cardiovascular Channel. 2019-01-16

[2] "Will long-term use of antihypertensive drugs damage the liver and kidney?" ". The whole people is true-Tencent News. 2018-03-19

[3] "Can the Argument Be Suspended? "The Lancet" study of over 20,000 people: When is it better to take antihypertensive drugs? This time period is also possible! ". New Perspectives in Medicine. 2022-10-16

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