Pressure jumps despite medications? It could be resistant hypertension

You have high blood pressure and you are doing everything you can to keep it lower. You are on a diet, you started to live more actively, but despite the medications, it does not decrease. Or is it resistant hypertension in your case? What is it and is there a chance that it will eventually be lowered to the norm? We explain.

1. Blood pressure tells us about the condition of our cardiovascular system. One in three people in Poland suffer from hypertension
2. High blood pressure is often asymptomatic, but the consequences can be very serious. This includes stroke, heart attack or atherosclerosis
3. The therapy takes into account the patient’s health, age and physical fitness. Too high blood pressure can be lowered with appropriate diet, medications, and physical activity. In some cases, this also fails
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Hypertension – how to treat it?

Blood pressure that exceeds the norm is bad, because it can lead to heart failure, heart attack, stroke or atherosclerosis. The problem is that this disease does not produce symptoms at first. And although it is easy to diagnose (it is enough to measure the pressure at home), it requires pharmacological treatment, changes in eating habits, and greater physical activity. However, even these methods can fail when dealing with resistant hypertension.

Refractory Hypertension – What is it?

Resistant hypertension affects about 12-13 percent. patients undergoing treatment. The point is that blood pressure does not drop to the normal level, despite the full doses of antihypertensive drugs they take, including a diuretic (diuretic) in their treatment regimen. There may be several reasons for this.

There are people who simply do not follow the doctor’s instructions and do not take their medications regularly and in the prescribed doses. They often bend the rules of a healthy diet and treat exercise as a necessary evil. It is then said to be alleged resistance. Behind it may also be the “white coat” syndrome, that is, an increase in pressure during a medical examination. At home, the parameters remain normal, but not at the clinic. If this is the case, it is worth telling the specialist. Other medications, such as contraceptives and even herbs, can also increase the pressure. That is why it is worth reading the leaflets carefully.

The second group of patients are those who follow their doctor’s instructions, but their blood pressure is above normal due to obstructive sleep apnea, for example, anxiety, depression or chronic pain. The same may be true for the elderly, who may have isolated arterial hypertension, i.e. only the so-called elevation. systolic pressure (first value). It is related to the less elasticity of the blood vessels.

Hormones secreted by the adrenal glands may also be responsible for resistant hypertension.

«The adrenal glands are made up of two zones: the medulla and the cortex. Each of them secretes different hormones, different in terms of chemical composition and function. If one of the zones increases in size, the secretion of one of the hormones is increased. If hormone secretion occurs out of control, one of the symptoms of the disorder is an increase in blood pressure. This type of hypertension is difficult to treat with standard pharmacological treatment »- explains Prof. Rafał Czepczyński from the Department and Clinic of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Internal Diseases at the Medical University of Poznań.

In addition, a patient’s resistance to treatment of hypertension may also be due to narrowing of the renal arteries and progressive renal failure due to diseases related to their parenchyma.

Blood pressure – basic information

Blood pressure is nothing but the force that blood exerts against the walls of blood vessels as it flows through them. They are measured in millimeters of mercury, or mmHg. When we measure the pressure, we get two numbers. The first (the higher) is the so-called systolic pressure, which is the blood pressure value when the heart beats. Normally, it is 120-129 mmHg. The second (lower) number shows the blood pressure value when the heart remains at rest during its regular contractions. This is called diastolic pressure should be 80-84 mmHg.

We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time we devote it to self-compassion – a trend that has developed very strongly in the United States, but is still in its infancy in Poland. What is it and how does it affect our daily functioning? You will hear about this and many other issues related to self-compassion in the latest episode of our podcast.