On November 13, the "China Hypertension Clinical Practice Guidelines" jointly formulated by the National Cardiovascular Disease Center, Chinese Medical Association , and the Cardiovascular Branch of the Chinese Medical Association were officially released. The "Guidelines" recommends lowering the diagnostic threshold of hypertension from 140/90 mmHg to 130/80 mmHg. So, does this mean that my country's diagnostic standards for hypertension have been adjusted?
answers
National Health Commission: Hypertension is a chronic disease that seriously endangers the health of our residents. The country continues to increase efforts to prevent and control hypertension, promote health management with high-risk groups as the focus, and promote the forward movement of prevention and control barriers. After years of hard work, the awareness, treatment rate and control rate of hypertension have continued to improve, and great progress has been made in the prevention and control work.
The country has standardized procedures for issuing diagnostic standards for diseases such as hypertension. Guidelines and consensuses issued by professional institutions, industry associations, individuals, etc. are the research results of experts and are not used as national disease diagnosis standards.
Regarding the diagnostic standards for hypertension, the publicity and education points, prevention and treatment guidelines, clinical pathways issued by the national health administrative departments in 2005, 2010 and 2017 are clearly defined: the diagnostic standards for adult hypertension are 3 times on the same day, blood pressure exceeds 140/90 mmHg. At present, the country has not adjusted the diagnostic criteria for adult hypertension.
The country will continue to prevent and early intervention in hypertension, strengthen the health management of high-risk groups and patients, effectively reduce the occurrence and development of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases caused by hypertension, and effectively protect the physical health of the people.
In daily diagnosis and treatment, the most common question people ask is "Do you have to take antihypertensive drugs?" "Do you can't stop as soon as you take antihypertensive drugs?" What does taking antihypertensive drugs mean to patients?
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Peking University First Hospital Chief physician of Cardiovascular Internal Medicine: Controlling blood pressure can protect the heart, brain, kidneys and other organs, and this is the purpose of taking antihypertensive drugs. Taking antihypertensive drugs is just a means. As for which antihypertensive drugs should be taken, how long to take, etc., they are determined by the patient's blood pressure control.
For example, some people can keep their blood pressure stable by taking antihypertensive drugs regularly and changing their lifestyle. For this situation, patients can reduce or even stop the medication under the guidance of a doctor. On the contrary, some patients' blood pressure is still rising slowly even after taking antihypertensive drugs. In this case, patients not only cannot stop the medication, but also need to "add the medication". In addition, some people with mild blood pressure can control their blood pressure to normal levels by adjusting their lifestyle.
No matter what method is used, maintaining normal blood pressure is the most important thing. Most patients with hypertension need to take medication for a long time.
Many patients are worried that taking medicine will cause liver and kidney damage. So, are there any side effects of taking antihypertensive drugs for a long time?
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Li Jianping, chief physician of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, First Hospital of Peking University: Multicenter clinical studies have confirmed that most antihypertensive drugs are very safe. Although there are some side effects, it can be controlled if you use it reasonably under the guidance of a doctor.
Specifically, what are the side effects of common antihypertensive drugs?
ACEI (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor) drugs (such as perindopril , enalapril , ramipril , etc.) and ARB (angiotensin II receptor blocker) drugs (such as valsartan , losartan , irbesartan , etc.) may increase blood creatinine. When taking these two types of drugs, patients need to test serum creatinine . However, this does not mean that these two types of drugs are harmful to the kidneys. Some patients with kidney disease will also take these two types of drugs to protect kidney function.
Some people will experience lower limb edema after taking CCB (calcium ion channel blocker) drugs (such as nifedipine , amlodipine , etc.), and a small number of people will have mild headaches.
β blockers (such as metoprolol, bisoprolol) have the effect of lowering blood pressure and heart rate . Patients taking this type of drug need to monitor their heart rate. If the resting heart rate is less than 55 to 60 times per minute, they need to reduce or stop the drug.
Diuretics (such as hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide ) may cause hypokalemia. Patients taking this type of medication may experience orthostatic hypotension in the summer.
Overall, it is safe to take antihypertensive drugs for a long time, and the benefits outweigh the risks. Patients must not refuse to take antihypertensive drugs because they are worried about the side effects of antihypertensive drugs.
Edited by: Wu Baixin
Information: Health Report
