Do you know the common misunderstandings about high blood pressure?

Myth 1: If you don’t have symptoms, you don’t need to take antihypertensive drugs

No. Most patients with hypertension have no obvious symptoms in the early stages, but persistent high blood pressure has already damaged the heart, brain, and kidneys. As the disease progresses, some patients may experience symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, insomnia, and palpitations. Therefore, once hypertension is diagnosed, active intervention should be given.

Myth 2: Once blood pressure is normal, you can stop taking the medicine

Some hypertensive patients monitor their blood pressure and find it normal after taking medication. They think their blood pressure is under control and stop taking antihypertensive drugs. This is wrong and very dangerous. Because normal blood pressure depends on antihypertensive drugs to reach a stable state. If you stop taking the drugs without authorization, the balance of drug concentration in the body will be broken, and blood pressure will easily get out of control, which will increase the incidence of complications such as myocardial infarction and cerebral infarction. Therefore, hypertensive patients usually need to take medication for a long time or even for life to control their blood pressure.

Myth 3: Long-term medication is addictive, so I don’t want to keep taking it

We all know that "all medicines are poisonous", and any medicine has side effects. At present, the commonly used antihypertensive drugs in clinical practice are diuretics, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor antagonists, and beta-receptor blockers. For example, diuretics can cause hypokalemia, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors can cause dry coughs, and calcium channel blockers can cause gingival hyperplasia. These side effects can be reduced and reduced by adjusting the drugs or combining them to formulate individualized medication plans. Stable control of blood pressure requires long-term medication, which is an objective need and there is no need to have a psychological burden.

Myth 4: I am only 2 or 3 years old , I won’t get high blood pressure, so don’t worry

There are 300 million patients with hypertension in my country, among which the prevalence of hypertension in young people aged 18-24 is 4.0%, and the prevalence of hypertension in young people aged 25-34 is 6.1%, showing a clear trend of younger age. The causes of high blood pressure in young people are often high-sugar, high-fat, high-protein diets, smoking and drinking, staying up late and insomnia, lack of exercise, etc. Young people should maintain a good lifestyle and have the habit of measuring blood pressure regularly. Once high blood pressure is found, it should be faced and treated in a timely and regular manner.

Myth 5: My dad’s blood pressure medication is pretty effective, so I can take it too

The causes of hypertension are different for each person, and the underlying diseases and basic physical fitness of each person are also different. Different individualized medications will naturally have different effects. Hypertensive patients should follow the principle of individualized medication and improve their lifestyles, based on their actual conditions. For example, patients with primary hypertension should pay attention to their basic physical condition, living and working habits, and comorbidities; patients with secondary hypertension need to be screened as soon as possible to find out the cause and receive targeted treatment under the guidance of professional doctors to strive for relief or cure.