Author: Pang Tao, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital
As we all know, essential hypertension is a chronic disease that cannot be cured, and it is also the main "killer" of human health. If it is allowed to develop or the blood pressure is in a state of uncontrolled for a long time, it is easy to lead to a variety of complications of important target organs such as the heart, brain and kidneys, and serious accidents such as cerebrovascular diseases can be caused. Therefore, we must start with the end, strictly control hypertension, and prevent or delay the arrival of target organ damage. This requires patients to control their lifestyle, eat healthily, exercise more, follow the doctor's advice to adhere to the use of antihypertensive drugs, monitor and manage their blood pressure, and the serious disease can not be paralyzed, and need to take drugs for a long time.
However, many patients with hypertension often do not have a correct understanding of hypertension medication, and it is easy to fall into some misunderstandings, which not only can not stabilize blood pressure, but also increase the risk of blood pressure fluctuations and increase the risk of cardiovascular damage. This article hopes to help you prevent microaggressions, improve awareness, avoid pitting, control blood pressure to the greatest extent, and protect our cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems and important target organs.
Myth 1: Blindly following the trend of taking drugs
Some patients do not follow the doctor's prescription, but blindly follow the drug use recommendations of patients and neighbors, and even credulously believe various advertisements.
In fact, the basic conditions of each person's disease are often different, the causes of hypertension patients are different, and the effect of medication will naturally vary.
Therefore, patients with hypertension often have to comply with the principle of personalized lifestyle improvement and medication, avoid rigidity, and combine their actual conditions, such as physical conditions, living and working habits, age and combined disease conditions, etc., and use drugs rationally under the prescription advice of professional doctors.
Myth 2: Antihypertensive drugs need to be taken for life once taken
Some patients believe that all drugs are addictive and that long-term use may cause excessive dependence on drugs.
In fact, this understanding is quite wrong.
■ First of all, no matter which antihypertensive drugs are not addictive to patients;
■ Secondly, the use of antihypertensive drugs is not dependent on whether dependence occurs, but on the control of their own blood pressure, including the tolerance of long-term use of drugs;
■ Finally, for most patients with hypertension, it is necessary to take long-term medication to control the stability of blood pressure, and even need to take medicine for life, so the drug cannot be stopped, mainly to take a long-term view, control blood pressure, protect cardiovascular and cerebrovascular and important target organs.
And how long is this long-term, is it a lifetime to take medicine?
The length of the medication should be adjusted according to the actual control of one's own blood pressure.
Blood pressure fluctuations are normal, if the blood pressure is well controlled, the drug is adjusted to the minimum maintenance dose, and even the suspension of antihypertensive drugs at certain stages of good lifestyle control can control blood pressure within the target range, and it is also possible to stop the drug, and most other cases basically require lifelong medication.
Myth three: Antihypertensive drugs can produce resistance
Some patients, diagnosed with high blood pressure, believe that they have no symptoms of discomfort and do not need medication.
Some people will think that they are still young and do not need to take drugs too early, afraid that the antihypertensive drugs will become worse and worse when they eat more drugs, and even think that if they take drugs early, they will have an impact on the future treatment effect.
This is a serious misconception!
In fact, many patients with hypertension have no discomfort symptoms or do not feel symptoms, but it does not mean that the damage of hypertension to the body stops or does not, on the contrary, this is the reason why everyone calls it a "silent killer"; compared to antibiotics, long-term use of antihypertensive drugs will not affect its treatment effect, and once hypertension is diagnosed, it is necessary to control blood pressure as soon as possible, so as to better protect the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems, and minimize the damage of hypertension to important organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys.
Myth 4: After the blood pressure returns to normal, there is no need to take medication or stop the medication on its own
Normal blood pressure does not mean that high blood pressure is completely cured.
As mentioned in the opening chapter, until now, the clinical hypertension is still in the stage of controlling its development, and it is difficult to cure. Therefore, it is difficult for patients with hypertension to leave antihypertensive drugs and need to take drugs for a long time to control.
Good blood pressure control relies on the concentration of antihypertensive drugs to reach a stable state in the body, if the drug is stopped without authorization, then the balance of drug concentrations will be broken, and blood pressure will be easy to get out of control. Therefore, you must not feel that your blood pressure is normal, and you can not take medication.
Some patients believe that after stopping the drug for a period of time, they did not see an increase in blood pressure.
In fact, the metabolism of the drug in the body also takes time, during which the patient may feel that the blood pressure is normal when the drug is stopped, but in fact, it is still a continuation of the drug effect. At this time, if the drug is stopped, it will cause a large fluctuation in blood pressure, which will aggravate the damage to blood vessels and important organs.
Well, the above is an introduction to several common medication misunderstandings about high blood pressure, have you learned? Please do not enter the pit.
Review expert: Shanghai Changzheng Hospital Yu Nian Xi
The above is the original work of the volunteers of the "Drug Safety Cooperation Alliance", if you reprint, please indicate the author and source!
【Medicine Shield Public Welfare】PSM Pharmaceutical Shield Public Welfare (public number: PSMChina), a public welfare organization jointly initiated and established by the China Over-the-Counter Drug Association, the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, etc., gathers resources, gathers strength, and promotes the safety of public medication.