To determine the extent of damage to the heart caused by high blood pressure, take a 6-minute test and you will know.

My friend Lao Li is a "chronic patient" who has suffered from high blood pressure for 5 years. He asked Huazi a question. It is said that high blood pressure can damage the heart. Since he has been suffering from the disease for so long, has his heart been "broken"? Huazi told him not to worry. High blood pressure that can be well controlled will not cause heart damage. Even if it is not well controlled, it usually takes more than 10 years for serious problems to occur.

Mr. Li said that he had been taking medication for his high blood pressure and his blood pressure was well controlled, but he was still worried and asked Huazi if he needed to go to the hospital for a check-up. Huazi told him that he didn't need to rush to the hospital and could find out by doing a small test in 6 minutes.

1. Heart damage caused by high blood pressure Heart damage caused by high blood pressure mainly involves two issues. First, high blood pressure can directly lead to heart failure. Higher blood pressure means increased resistance to blood circulation, and the heart needs more power to pump blood out.

This is like the heart is "lifting weights" to exercise. Over time, the myocardium begins to proliferate and thicken, and the demand for oxygen and energy increases. Under long-term increased pressure, the heart begins to expand, the ventricular wall becomes stiff, and the myocardium begins to fibrosis, which will seriously affect the heart's diastolic and ejection functions and cause heart failure.

Second, high blood pressure can lead to atherosclerosis and cause coronary heart disease. Increased blood pressure can cause mechanical damage to the coronary artery lining, and cholesterol in the blood will enter the artery lining from the damaged area, forming atherosclerotic plaques. As the plaques continue to progress, the coronary arteries will become narrower and narrower, affecting the blood supply to the heart.

Moreover, some atherosclerotic plaques are unstable and may rupture under the impact of blood flow or vascular spasm, inducing platelet aggregation to form thrombus and causing myocardial infarction.

2. Check your heart condition in 6 minutes A healthy person can walk about 6 to 7 kilometers per hour at a fast pace. If there is a problem with the heart, it will affect the activity endurance and you will be forced to stop and rest after walking a certain distance. However, 1 hour is too long, so use one tenth of the time, that is, the distance you walk in 6 minutes, to judge your heart capacity.

When testing, you need to find an open road with few people, the road surface should be flat and hard, or you need to be on a treadmill. Then time 6 minutes, walk as fast as you can, but don't run. Then see how far you walk in 6 minutes. If it is more than 550 meters, it is normal. If it is between 426 and 550 meters, it is mild heart failure; if it is between 150 and 425 meters, it is moderate heart failure; if it is less than 150 meters, it is severe heart failure.

3. Controlling blood pressure can prevent heart damage. Hypertension can cause heart failure and coronary heart disease. Hypertension itself is a slowly progressing disease, and the damage to the heart is also continuous, but it often takes more than 10 years to cause serious damage to the heart and complications. Therefore, the earlier hypertension is controlled, the better the protection of the heart will be.

When controlling blood pressure, please note that although 140/90 mmHg is usually the control target for hypertension, it is not the best blood pressure for heart protection. To achieve a better heart protection effect, blood pressure needs to be controlled at around 130/80 mmHg, but not lower than 110/60 mmHg.

In summary, people with high blood pressure need to pay attention to the control of blood pressure to strengthen the protection of the heart. Through a 6-minute walk, you can estimate your heart condition. For those who have symptoms of heart failure and coronary heart disease, they need to seek medical treatment in time and use medication under the guidance of a doctor. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.