Preventing and Treating Hypertension – A Comprehensive Guide
May 29, 2024 | By Suzanne Alexandre
Zero symptoms and maximum health risks: this is the problem with hypertension. It is crucial to detect and treat it effectively!
When the pressure exerted by blood flow on the artery wall is excessive, our arteries suffer. Hypertension occurs when blood pressure measurements exceed 14/9. These numbers naturally increase over time as aging leads to artery hardening and higher blood pressure. Around 25% of people have hypertension at 50, 35% at 60, 50% at 70, and 70% at 80. However, age is not the only risk factor to monitor. Dr. Jean-François Renucci, a vascular physician at APHM (Marseille) and member of the Agir pour le cœur des femmes foundation, provides explanations and advice.
The Dangers to Avoid
Hypertension silently progresses and can lead to various health issues such as strokes, heart diseases (heart failure, arrhythmia, aortic dissection), aneurysms affecting all organs, kidney failure, and cognitive degeneration due to repeated micro-strokes.
Risk Factors to Track
While aging affects everyone, some individuals have multiple reasons to develop hypertension. Heredity also plays a role, especially if one or both parents had early hypertension. Smoking, excessive salt and alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, long-term stress exposure, and menopause with decreased protective female hormones, increase risks. Certain medications like synthetic estrogen contraceptives and anti-inflammatories can also contribute.
Non-Medication Solutions
Although age and heredity cannot be changed, other risk factors can be addressed. Effective measures include reducing salt and alcohol intake, quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight (BMI between 18.5 and 25), combating sedentary behavior (30 minutes of physical activity per day and two muscle-strengthening sessions per week), and managing stress through psychotherapy, qigong, meditation, tai chi, etc.
Treatment Options
In cases of established hypertension, long-term treatment is necessary. Medications such as renin inhibitors (which increase tension), calcium channel blockers, diuretics to eliminate salt through urine, alpha blockers, and anti-aldosterone drugs may be prescribed. Ongoing research is also exploring the effectiveness of new gene therapy, which requires administration only every six months.