Silent killer
What high blood pressure has to do with a clogged espresso machine
Hyperture is widespread, tricky and, in the worst case, fatal. Because he often remains undetected, it is also referred to as “Silent Killer”. So you get it under control.
High blood pressure is a mass phenomenon. According to the German High -Printing League, up to 30 million people in this country suffer from it. The tricky: Many do not know anything about their illness, which is also called “Silent Killer” (in German: “Stiller Murderer”).
Hyperture can lead to bad complications such as heart attack, stroke and kidney failure. Therefore, the so -called World Hypertension Day (May 17) is informed annually by the common disease.
Once the diagnosis is made, the questions are similar in patients: does that stay forever? How can that go away again?
High blood pressure is a common disease – from which values does it become dangerous?
There is no internal illness in Germany more than arterial hypertension – i.e. high blood pressure, explains Anne Fleck, specialist in internal medicine and rheumatology. According to the European Society of Hypertension, the clinical picture is available when the systolic values exceed 140 mmHg and/or the diastolic values 90 mmHg.
The first, systolic value refers to the pressure in the arteries when the blood is pumped out of the heart. About 120 mmHg or less are ideal here. The usually three -digit number is also called the upper value because it is on the display above for digital blood pressure devices. Among them is the second, diastolic value below. This measures the pressure in the arteries when the blood flows back into the heart and it relaxes. The goal here is about 80 mmHg or less.
For the first value, Markus van der Giet, chairman of the German Higher Protestation League, states: “98 percent of the patients fight with it.” Hyperture can also occur in a combination of systolic and diastolic hypertension and other forms. Martin Middeke, professor of internal medicine and former head of the Munich Hypertension Center, has set itself the task of writing about the disease. His new work “The Age Formula” will be released on June 1 and addresses the connection between good blood circulation and health.
In general, the following applies to high blood pressure: If you do not do anything about it, you increase the risk of further diseases of the cardiovascular system. That can be heart attack or stroke.
How does high blood pressure come about?
If the system gets into the imbalance and the body wants to maintain its functions, high blood pressure arises. This can be the normal aging process, as high blood pressure expert van der Giet explains: “With everyone, blood pressure increases in the course of life.” It is about stiffening the vessels. However, gender (men are affected more often) and hereditary predispositions also play a role in blood pressure.
There is often an inherited predisposition if a parent or both parents have hypertension, says expert Middeke. This starts in young and medium -sized adulthood, mostly with an increase in diastolic blood pressure, i.e. the lower value. The reasons for this can be weight gain, lack of physical activity or chronic stress.
In addition, there is other factors for high blood pressure such as insulin resistance, high alcohol and nicotine consumption or an excessive or low-potassium diet. Infectious diseases such as viral infections (Covid-19) or chronic Borreliosis diseases with which the body fight can also cause high blood pressure or heavy fluctuations in blood pressure.
Which variants of high blood pressure are there?
The kidney has a special role in the body as a filter – and if it doesn’t work well, according to van der Giet’s words, it is like a blocked espresso machine. “Then we produce higher pressure.”
Hypertension can be divided into two ways: the primary and secondary hypertension. About 90 percent of all those affected have the primary form. The high blood pressure itself is the real disease.
In secondary hypertension, high blood pressure is a side effect of another disease. The age plays only a subordinate role here, explains Middeke. According to van der Giet, a defective blood flow to the kidney can be behind a secondary hypertension. However, the cause could also be an overactive thyroid, inflammatory rheumatic diseases on the vessels, neurological causes or psychogenic causes in the case of about severe pain, according to expert Fleck.
“Silent Killer”: What if there are no symptoms?
Hypertension cannot always be recognized immediately. Van der Giet estimates that a third of those affected do not know anything about their illness. This is “the treacherous” for stain. Because complaints can be missing for a long time or misinterpreted.
As a typical symptoms, the specialist names early morning headaches in the back of the head area or in general headaches in the neck. If you have high blood pressure at night, you can suffer from sleep disorders or wake up more often. “Far too rarely is thought of consistent short blood pressure measurement in sleep disorders,” warns Fleck. Early breaks, dizziness, strong nervousness, nosebleeds or a lack of air during stress are also indications.
What can you do about the tricky illness?
For stain it is clear: “The earlier symptoms not only ironed with medication, but causes are recognized and parked, the better the chances of recovery.” For the specialist, the basis of every therapy measure is an adaptation of the lifestyle. Anyone who adapts their diet, nutrient deficits such as calcium, potassium and magnesium and regularly endurance training can “achieve a lot”.
According to her, these measures alone can be used to normalize a quarter of all cases with grade 1. According to the Federal Medical Association, grade 1 consists between 140 and 159 systolic and/or diastolic values between 90 and 99 mmHg.
Anyone who suffers from secondary hypertension – i.e. as a side effect of an illness – has an advantage: “If you recognize the disease, you can usually treat it, so that the blood pressure problem should actually be solved afterwards,” explains van der Giet, who heads the hypertension center at the Berlin Charité. A special form can be followed by Corona. According to his words, the omikron variants of the virus bring the “blood pressure regulation”.
On the other hand, if you suffer from a genetic or age -related primary hypertension, you have worse cards. “You can’t get out of this case,” says van der Giet. Then it says: actively doing something against high blood pressure and usually taking tablets for life.
Why is the treatment so important?
Patients who do not know about their high blood pressure are sometimes surprised by Giet. Because “many feel better under high blood pressure because they are more powerful,” explains the expert. He then had to explain to them that regulation is still important by means of tablets. Van der Giet then asks: “Do you want to get a heart attack or stroke?” Because nobody wants that, his urgent appeal is: “Set your blood pressure.”
For Middeke, the permanent treatment of high blood pressure is the “most successful medical measure to prevent cardiovascular diseases”.
Marc Fleischmann/ TPO/ dpa
Source: Stern
I’m Caroline, a journalist and author for 24 Hours Worlds. I specialize in health-related news and stories, bringing real-world impact to readers across the globe. With my experience in journalism and writing in both print and online formats, I strive to provide reliable information that resonates with audiences from all walks of life.
