Hypertension is very common, according to the data of the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, the prevalence of hypertension among residents aged 18 and above in mainland China is 27.5%, which means that about 1 in 4 adults is a hypertensive patient, with a total of about 245 million people.
What is high blood pressure?
Hypertension is defined as a diagnosis of hypertension ≥ systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg (or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg) taken on 3 different days or pre-existing hypertension on antihypertensive drugs despite blood pressure control of < 140/90 mmHg.
High blood pressure, also known as elevated blood pressure, is a condition in which the pressure on the walls of blood vessels is consistently higher than normal as blood flows through the blood vessels. If hypertension is not actively treated, over time, the heart will become hypertrophied and dilated, heart function will decline, and heart failure is more likely to occur; coronary arteries will harden, angina pectoris and myocardial infarction will occur; cerebral arteries will harden, cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction will occur; the kidneys will be damaged, kidney failure is more likely to occur, and even perennial hemodialysis treatment is required; blood vessels in both legs will also be damaged, and in severe cases, amputation may be required; fundus arteries will be damaged, and even blindness will occur.
If I have high blood pressure, do I need to take medication for life?
Regarding this issue, there is a saying widely circulated among patients with high blood pressure: "Don't take antihypertensive drugs easily, you can't quit once you take them." It is this inaccurate and misleading sentence that leads to many hypertensive patients who do not dare to take antihypertensive drugs easily or do not take timely drug treatment even if they know that their blood pressure is elevated, and then delay the condition.
So, do I need to take antihypertensive drugs for life? I tell you very clearly: not necessarily, but most people have to take drugs for life once they have high blood pressure.
First, we must have a clear logical concept that taking blood pressure medication is to prevent greater damage. Antihypertensive drugs are not addictive drugs, there is no dependence, and the drug can be stopped at any time. The problem is that it cannot be stopped, once the drug is stopped, the blood pressure will rise again, damaging the heart, brain, eyes, kidneys, blood vessels and other organs, causing irreversible harm, hypertension is a lifelong chronic disease, which needs to be treated with lifelong medication.
Second, hypertension is divided into secondary hypertension and essential hypertension. For secondary hypertension with a clear etiology, as long as the cause is removed or controlled in a timely and aggressive manner, most of them do not require lifelong medication.
Essential hypertension with unclear etiology can be divided into three criteria: low-risk, intermediate-risk, and high-risk. Low- and intermediate-risk can be achieved by changing lifestyle to keep blood pressure below 140/90mmHg, and can be successfully improved through regular monitoring, follow-up, etc., and can be done without lifelong medication. For high-risk patients, they will have to take medication for life. In addition, when the body has been irreversibly damaged due to certain factors (long-term hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis, plaque in blood vessels, etc.), the hypertension formed in this situation can only be administered for a long time. This is determined by the characteristics of high blood pressure itself, not by antihypertensive drugs.
It is important to be wary that high blood pressure is calculated using blood pressure, not feeling. Just because there is no discomfort does not mean that there is no harm. In short, under the guidance of a doctor, patients should understand the characteristics of their hypertension and follow the doctor's instructions to take medication on time and in accordance with the dosage, so that they can enjoy a healthy life.
Introduction to the Second Department of Cardiovascular Medicine
The Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of Nanchang People's Hospital has been established for more than 30 years, and the Second Department of Cardiovascular Medicine was established in 2015. After nearly 10 years of great development, the Second Department of Cardiovascular Medicine has become an important base for cardiovascular disease treatment, teaching, scientific research, prevention and talent training in our province, and is a key specialty in Nanchang City, a famous department in Nanchang City, a chest pain center in Jiangxi Province, a standardized treatment center for heart failure in Jiangxi Province, a standardized treatment center for hypertension in Jiangxi Province, and a popular science education base in Nanchang City.
The department has a total of 51 open beds, with subspecialty groups such as coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, structural heart disease, hypertension and related diseases. There are 11 doctors and 17 nurses in the department, including 2 master's supervisors, 10 doctoral and master's degree holders, and 3 excellent teachers.
At present, the department can carry out coronary angiography, right heart catheterization, coronary intervention, percutaneous intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP), interventional treatment of congenital heart disease, intracardiac electrophysiological examination, arrhythmia radiofrequency ablation, permanent cardiac pacemaker implantation, adrenal vein blood collection (AVS), renal arteriography and renal artery stent implantation in 2021, implantation of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), Micra pacemaker implantation and radiofrequency ablation treatment of complex arrhythmias under three-dimensional mapping have been closely following the forefront of discipline development and providing comprehensive, advanced and standardized diagnosis and treatment services for patients with different cardiovascular diseases.
In the past five years, the department has undertaken a total of 20 clinical trial researches, including 1 project leader unit, 12 national, provincial and municipal scientific research projects, with a funding of more than 60 yuan, and published 30 papers, including 14 SCI papers, 16 core journals and 1 book.
Pei Zhaohui
Director of the Second Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and Chief Physician
He is a double postdoctoral fellow and doctoral supervisor of Sun Yat-sen University
He went to the Cardiovascular Center of La Rochelle University in France for exchange and study, and studied at the Hypertension Center of Beijing Fuwai Cardiovascular Hospital. He is currently a master's tutor of Southern Medical University, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Nanchang University. He is a member of the Cardiovascular Professional Committee of the Chinese Geriatric Health Care Association, a member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangxi Hypertension Society, a member of the Standing Committee of the Cardiovascular Branch of the Jiangxi Association of Integrative Traditional and Western Medicine, and the chairman of the Nanchang Microcirculation Society. He has presided over a number of National Natural Science Foundation of China, and is now a review expert of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Beijing Natural Science Foundation. He is a reviewer of core journals and SCI journals, the first author has published more than 20 SCI papers, and the first and corresponding authors have published more than 30 core journal papers.
In June 2009, he participated in the compilation of a chapter in "Hypertension Therapeutics" published by the People's Medical Publishing House, and was the first author; in January 2011, he participated in the compilation of a chapter in "Cardiovascular Basic and Clinical" published by the Higher Education Press, and was the first author; "Research on the Effect and Mechanism of Infrasound on L-type Calcium Channels in Rat Cardiomyocytes" was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30400091) from 2005 to 2007, and was the project leader. In 2008, the Effect and 20060390744 Mechanism of Infrasound on Left Ventricular Remodeling in Rats with Chronic Hypoxia was funded by the 43rd China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (20080430805), and "The Effect and Mechanism of Infrasound on Ventricular Remodeling in Rats with Myocardial Infarction" was funded by the 1st China Postdoctoral Science Foundation ( 20081266), the principal investigator of the project, "Research on the regulation of TGF/Smad signaling pathway by microRNA-29a in the treatment of myocardial fibrosis in rats with low sound pressure level level" was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (8126293) from 2013 to 2016.
Song Guoliang
Deputy Director of the Second Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and Deputy Chief Physician
He is a member of the Cardiovascular Branch of the Jiangxi Provincial Association of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, a director of the Jiangxi Electrophysiology Association, and is good at the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, especially the interventional treatment of coronary heart disease and pacemaker placement.
Contributed by: Yu Haigen, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nanchang People's Hospital
Correspondents: Min Jie, Hu Jia, Ren Wei
Editor: Zhou Yun
Reviewer: Chen Shirui
Issued: Xie Tao