After the beginning of summer, the weather across the country is gradually getting hotter, and many elderly patients with high blood pressure have begun to "surprise" to find that their blood pressure, which was originally high after taking medicine, has now dropped. Some people even think that if their blood pressure drops in the summer, the blood pressure medication can be stopped, but is this really the case? Is it really possible to stop taking blood pressure medication during the hot summer months? I'm going to talk to you about this topic today.
Why does blood pressure drop in the elderly when they are hot?
In daily life, if we look closely, most of the hypertensive patients whose blood pressure drops in summer are not young adults or middle-aged people with new hypertension, but elderly friends with a history of hypertension for many years. In fact, this drop in blood pressure is not entirely a good thing, which just shows that the elasticity of our blood vessels is poor, and the degree of arteriosclerosis is higher, so it will be more affected by changes in the temperature of the external environment.
Many elderly friends, have many years of history of hypertension, coupled with the combined impact of age, blood lipids and blood sugar elevation, is a group of more serious atherosclerosis, in this case, although blood pressure may drop in the summer when it is hot, but the same if it is a cold winter, the risk of blood pressure rising out of control is also greater, therefore, for this part of friends, it is important not to stop the drug immediately, but to do a good job of monitoring, strengthen the stable control of blood pressure.
Do I need to stop taking the medicine if my blood pressure drops on a hot day?
As the weather gets hotter and my blood pressure drops, do I need to stop my blood pressure medication? The answer is: in most cases, the drug cannot be stopped, and stopping the drug will bring greater risks!
For patients with high blood pressure, although the weather is warmer and hotter, blood pressure will drop to a certain extent, but usually the decline is very limited, and completely stopping the drug can not keep the blood pressure stable within the safe range. This fluctuation of blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and deserves special attention.
For some hypertensive patients with β receptor blockers (such as metoprolol, etc.) in the antihypertensive drug regimen, if the drug is stopped suddenly, it will also cause the problem of rebound of the drug, resulting in increased heart rate, and even tachycardia, which further increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is also more than worth the loss.
In summer, it is more important to stabilize blood pressure and do these 5 things well
For patients with high blood pressure, how can they control their blood pressure in the hot summer? Today, I would like to share with you 5 important aspects.
1. Do a good job of monitoring blood pressure
First of all, we should do a good job of blood pressure monitoring, summer in many areas is "suddenly" coming, and in the process of temperature change, there may be some alternating hot and cold situations, in this period of seasonal alternation, it is recommended that patients with high blood pressure, especially those with high blood pressure who are prone to fluctuations, should do more blood pressure monitoring and measurement, and understand the fluctuation of their blood pressure.
Now we are equipped with an electronic blood pressure monitor at home The cost is very low, it is recommended that friends with high blood pressure problems should be equipped with one as much as possible, in hot weather, you can get up in the morning, hot noon, and before going to bed and other periods, measure blood pressure to see if it is really a drop in blood pressure, or just an accidental phenomenon in a certain period of time, understand these, we can actively take measures to deal with it, and control blood pressure more smoothly.
2. Adjust the medication plan reasonably if necessary
If hypertensive patients have symptoms such as fatigue, palpitations, and dizziness in hot weather, especially after taking antihypertensive drugs, it is even more necessary to measure blood pressure. For example, reducing the dosage or reducing a blood pressure medication can be combined with the actual situation, and a professional can be asked to evaluate and determine a new medication regimen.
During the adjustment of medication, it is still necessary to pay attention to the monitoring of blood pressure to understand whether the blood pressure has been well controlled after drug adjustment, and if the blood pressure rises significantly, it is necessary to further adjust and strengthen the stable control of blood pressure.
3. Pay more attention to hydration
For some elderly friends, drinking less water is a big problem, as we age, the body's sensory conduction of thirst will also become weaker, so if it is an elderly friend who drinks water only when they are thirsty, they often drink very little water.
In summer, the blood pressure of some elderly hypertensive patients drops, which is related to the decrease in blood volume due to the lack of water in the hot weather, and the lack of water in the body leads to a decrease in blood volume, but this situation is certainly not worth advocating, and insufficient water will cause the viscosity of blood to increase, which will bring greater cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risks. Therefore, for patients with hypertension in this condition, in addition to not stopping the drug casually, we should also pay attention to reasonable hydration, replenish more water, and keep the body hydrated, which is not only conducive to reducing the risk of blood viscosity, but also can promote urination and reduce the risk of blood pressure increase caused by water and sodium retention.
4. Control emotional stability
Hot weather makes people irritable, and the risk of anger, anxiety and other emotions will also increase. For friends with high blood pressure, if you want to control your blood pressure steadily, not only can you not stop taking the medicine, but you must also learn to control your emotions and maintain a peaceful and optimistic positive attitude. A new foreign study found that anger will cause damage to vascular endothelial health within 40 minutes, and it is also one of the important risk factors for raising blood pressure.
In fact, if you can really think about it, you will find that most of the things in our daily life are not worth getting angry and anxious, and many times time will dilute everything, and face life with a peaceful and optimistic attitude, we will be much more relaxed, and the smoothness of blood pressure control will naturally improve a lot.
5. Avoid sudden hot and cold stimuli
The ultimate goal of stabilizing blood pressure in hot weather is to reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, so in summer, especially for hypertensive patients who are greatly affected by temperature, we must pay attention to avoid sudden hot and cold stimulation. For example, from the high temperature of the external environment, suddenly enter the air-conditioned room with a particularly low temperature; For example, in the case of sweating profusely in hot weather, taking a shower with cold water may cause a sharp contraction of blood vessels, and blood pressure will also rise suddenly, which will bring huge pressure on the heart and blood vessels, thus becoming an important cause of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.