People with high blood pressure, do you know your blood pressure after falling asleep? This blood pressure is very important

Many people with high blood pressure consulted Huazi about the treatment of high blood pressure. Huazi asked them when they measured their blood pressure. Many people measured it in the morning after getting up, some before going to bed, and some measured it in the morning and evening. Huazi asked them again, then who knows their blood pressure after falling asleep? Few people could answer. Many people asked Huazi, how can you measure blood pressure when you are asleep?

Huazi answered them that it is true that people cannot measure their own blood pressure when they are asleep. However, blood pressure during sleep is very important, because relevant studies have found that hypertensive patients whose blood pressure is higher at night than during the day have a risk of cerebral infarction and myocardial infarction that is half that of people with normal blood pressure.

1. The fluctuation pattern of blood pressure The human body's blood pressure has its own fluctuation pattern. Normal blood pressure is higher during the day than at night, with a peak in the morning and afternoon, and a trough at night. Normal blood pressure during sleep at night is about 10-20% lower than during the day. If the normal pattern of blood pressure fluctuation is drawn with a graph, it looks like a "spoon", so the normal fluctuation of blood pressure is also called "spoon-shaped blood pressure".

However, some hypertensive patients, especially the elderly, do not have normal blood pressure fluctuation patterns. Instead, their blood pressure is lower during the day and higher at night. If these people only measure their blood pressure during the day and ignore their blood pressure at night, they may have the illusion that their blood pressure is not high and ignore treatment, which may increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents.

2. How can I know my nighttime blood pressure? Measuring nighttime blood pressure is a hassle, because it cannot be done by normal measurement methods. Some people may ask, is it okay to set an alarm and get up in the middle of the night to measure it? This is not possible either, because when a person is awake, the blood pressure will naturally rise, and the blood pressure at this time is not an accurate nighttime blood pressure.

So there are two ways to measure blood pressure at night. The first way is to ask your "significant other" to help you secretly measure blood pressure between 1 and 3 a.m. after you fall asleep. The second way is to use a 24-hour dynamic blood pressure monitor to automatically measure blood pressure. You can buy a home version of the 24-hour dynamic blood pressure monitor yourself or rent it at a hospital.

3. What to do if you find that your blood pressure is elevated at night If your blood pressure at night is 10-20% lower than that during the day, it is normal. Do a 24-hour dynamic blood pressure monitoring every 3-6 months and keep observing. If you find that your blood pressure at night is higher than that during the day, it means that the current antihypertensive treatment is not up to standard, and you need to see a doctor to adjust the medication.

You can switch to more stable long-acting antihypertensive drugs. For example, if you originally used nifedipine sustained-release tablets, although "sustained-release tablets" can slowly release drugs, drug absorption still has obvious peaks and valleys. You can consider switching to nifedipine controlled-release tablets, because "controlled-release" means releasing drugs at a constant rate that does not change over time, and the blood pressure control effect is more stable.

You can also consider changing the time of taking the medicine. For example, most antihypertensive drugs basically reach their peak absorption 2 to 3 hours after taking them, and their antihypertensive effect is the strongest. So you can change to taking antihypertensive drugs before bedtime, so that when blood pressure rises at night, the drug is also the most effective, and you can achieve the best protective effect.

It should be noted that the change of medication and the adjustment of medication time need to be determined according to the time of blood pressure increase and the pharmacokinetic properties of the drug. These need to be done under the guidance of a doctor and cannot be changed at will. In addition, salt should be limited in diet, especially dinner should not be too salty, and drinking too much water before going to bed can increase blood volume.

In summary, people with high blood pressure should pay attention to their nighttime blood pressure during sleep. The most reliable measurement method is to do 24-hour dynamic blood pressure monitoring. Knowing the law of your own blood pressure changes will help you "know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles" when treating high blood pressure. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.