attended the Medical Meteorology Conference today and heard about seasonal blood pressure variations. It reminded me of the seasonal changes in antihypertensive drugs that stroke patients often ask this season. Tianjin is a place in the north with relatively distinct four seasons. Compared with winter, patients with hypertension will generally have lower blood pressure in summer. Some experienced old patients may adjust their antihypertensive drugs on their own, and they need to take two or three drugs in autumn and winter. In the summer, patients can usually reduce one or two medications or reduce the dosage, and some patients even stop taking the medication on their own.
The main reasons for the decrease in blood pressure are: the significant increase in temperature in summer will cause the expansion of arterioles throughout the body; a large amount of sweat is discharged, which reduces body fluids (similar to diuretics ); high temperature weakens systemic sympathetic nerve excitability; some people increase their outdoor activities.
So how do you adjust your antihypertensive drugs?
First, leave a margin for lowering blood pressure.
Basically every antihypertensive drug will reduce systolic blood pressure by about 10mmHg. After reducing the drug, the blood pressure will rise slightly. Then when we reduce the medication, we need to leave room for the blood pressure to rise after the medication is reduced. For example, if we take medicine and it drops to 130/80mmHg, then if we reduce the medicine, it will return to above 140/90mmHg. If it is controlled below 120/70mmHg and there are no symptoms, you can start reducing the medication at a lower level, which will be relatively stable.
Secondly, what medicines can reduce it?
The selection of drugs is a very professional issue and involves a lot of content. Antihypertensive drugs are different for stroke and renal failure, are different for middle-aged and elderly people, and individual tolerance is even different. Antihypertensive drugs have additional protective effects on important organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys, and should be combined with test results and other disease conditions.
Third, do not reduce the medication too quickly.
Pay attention to the changes in blood pressure after reducing the medication. It usually takes at least a week to determine whether the reduction of the medication is appropriate.
