According to medical standards, a blood pressure of 180 to 120 is elevated and indicates stage 3 hypertension. It is characterized by sudden jumps in blood pressure, as a result of which physiological changes are observed in the brain, heart and blood vessels. If drug treatment is not started in a timely manner, hypertension will inevitably lead to heart attack, stroke and even death.
What does blood pressure 180/120 mean?
Due to constant increases in blood pressure, it is difficult for the heart to move blood through narrowed vessels. It works for wear, which leads to an increase in the left ventricle and entails the absence of a diastolic pause. In this case, along with the upper indicator, the lower indicator also increases. Ultimately, the patient develops heart failure.
A therapist can tell you what pressure 180 to 120 means in elderly patients, since there are several reasons. One of the main causes of high blood pressure in them is diabetes mellitus. Due to poor nutrition, atherosclerosis develops, which also provokes critical blood pressure levels.
Sometimes young people with high blood pressure do not feel worse, but this does not mean that blood pressure of 180/120 is normal for them. This situation indicates the good condition of their blood vessels, and also indicates that the heart is working under severe overload. In this category of people, the likelihood of developing a heart attack and stroke increases several times.
Blood pressure 180 to 120 mm Hg. Art. observed in men much more often. This is due to an incorrect lifestyle, bad habits and constant physical activity.
In women, blood pressure is 180 to 120 - a consequence of stress and overeating. This indicator can be observed with hormonal imbalances and endocrine diseases.
What to do?
If the pressure is 180 to 120, what should I do? Timely actions will help avoid serious complications. What to do to help a patient with a hypertensive crisis:
- Call emergency medical assistance.
- Give drugs to drink that calm the nervous system (Corvalol, Validol, Valocordin).
- Invite the person to take a reclining position.
- Foot baths with mustard (with water temperature from 33 to 37°C) have a hypotensive effect.
- Open a window for fresh air.
- Organize emotional peace, eliminate noise and bright light.
- Suggest doing breathing exercises to normalize breathing: take a deep breath, hold your breath, then exhale slowly for 10 seconds, do the exercise 2-4 times.
- You can prepare warm tea with lemon balm for the patient.
Causes
High blood pressure has two main causes: wear and tear of the heart muscle and damage to the walls of blood vessels. A huge number of factors can lead to these pathological conditions. A person can eliminate some irritants on his own by adjusting his way of life, but it is impossible to get rid of others. In the case of uncontrollable irritants, all that doctors can do is to reduce their adverse effects on the cardiovascular system.
And also read on our website: What do pressure readings of 150 to 90 mean, what to do with such blood pressure, what are the causes in adults, pregnant women and children?
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What causes the blood pressure to rise can only be determined by a qualified specialist. If you experience an increase in blood pressure to 180 to 120 mmHg. Art. and you experience unpleasant symptoms, be sure to consult a doctor.
Prevention
It is recommended for hypertensive patients to constantly measure their blood pressure and record data for at least a month. By changing indicators, it is easier to understand whether treatment is helping or to track possible problems.
Diet is important to prevent high blood pressure. This is one of the main recommendations of doctors. The diet needs to include foods rich in vitamins and microelements, many of which can regulate blood pressure. These are spinach, viburnum, flax seed, cranberries, lingonberries, beet juice, decoctions of pomegranate and hawthorn peels. Green tea and fermented milk products are beneficial. An integral part of complex therapy is giving up bad habits, smoking and drinking alcohol, fatty, salty and spicy foods.
Healthy eating
Doctors advise hypertensive patients to do breathing exercises, get enough sleep, spend time in the fresh air more often, engage in feasible physical exercise, and try not to get nervous.
Remember, if the pressure arrows on the tonometer go off scale and the above symptoms appear, you need to immediately call an ambulance. Don’t let hypertension develop – any disease; it is much easier to prevent than to treat the consequences.
First aid at home
Experienced hypertensive patients know that a crisis can begin at any minute, so they always keep medications for emergency blood pressure lowering in their home medicine cabinet and bag.
If you encounter a critical increase in blood pressure for the first time and don’t know what to do, call an ambulance.
And also read on our website: What does blood pressure 160 over 80 mean in men and women, reasons, what to do and how to treat high blood pressure?
At home you can give Anaprilin or Nifedipine. The tablet is placed under the tongue and not broken into pieces. To unload the blood vessels, a diuretic is given, for example, Hypothiazide. If the patient feels pain, it is recommended to drink No-shpa or another antispasmodic, for example, Papaverine.
Before the doctors arrive, you can make a hot bath for the patient’s feet or rub his limbs, moving from bottom to top. This will increase blood flow to the extremities and relieve the myocardium.
Consequences of hypertension
People often take the diagnosis of hypertension very lightly, especially men. Such an attitude towards your health with regular pressure drops is unacceptable. Medical statistics claim that the cause of early death in a large number of cases is hypertension, which is not treated.
It’s not for nothing that hypertension is called the “silent killer”; it may not cause much inconvenience to the patient, but in the long term it threatens with a stroke or heart attack. (A stroke used to be called a “stroke”, and a heart attack was called a “heart rupture”).
Treatment
Regular increases in blood pressure up to 180 to 120 mm Hg.
Art. − a sign of irreversible changes in the body. Even with the help of medications and lifestyle adjustments, it is impossible to return to 120 to 80. A person will always have high blood pressure. If stage 3 hypertension is not treated, the prognosis for patients will be unfavorable. Cerebrovascular type disorders develop in 56% of cases. Pulmonary edema is observed in 25%, and infarction develops in 19%. Without timely first aid, the death of the patient is possible.
Medicines
With stage 3 hypertension, self-medication is prohibited. Only qualified medical assistance can normalize the functioning of the heart and blood vessels. The cardiologist and therapist jointly develop an individual treatment plan for the patient.
In the treatment of high blood pressure, medications from several groups are used:
- ACE inhibitors have a hypotensive effect. Captopril and Enalapril have proven themselves well.
- Calcium antagonists reduce the load on the heart muscle. The most commonly prescribed drugs are Nifedipine and Cordipine.
- Among β-blockers, Anaprilin and Propamin have a good effect.
- Neurotropic medications reduce vascular spasm and prevent strokes. Moxonidine and Moxonitex give the fastest effect.
Antihypertensive drugs are taken for life! You should not stop taking your medications as soon as you feel better.
Folk remedies
With blood pressure 180 to 120 mm Hg.
Art. Treatment with folk remedies will not bring results. Using decoctions and tinctures, you can strengthen the walls of blood vessels and enhance the body's protective properties, but you will not cure the disease. And also read on our website: Is blood pressure 130 over 70 normal, what does it mean and what to do with it?
As an addition to traditional treatment, decoctions are made from pomegranate peels and drunk instead of tea.
Juice from beets and hawthorn decoction perfectly calms a person and reduces the likelihood of developing hypertensive crises.
A decoction of currant berries perfectly cleanses blood vessels and normalizes blood circulation.
Lemon juice, honey and mineral water will help to quickly reduce blood pressure. When blood pressure jumps to 180/120 mm Hg. Art. Squeeze a spoonful of honey and juice from one lemon into a glass of mineral water and drink it in one gulp.
Medicines for high blood pressure
Important! The third degree of hypertension cannot be cured with folk remedies; they can only be used as an addition to the main course of therapy.
Most often, such high blood pressure occurs in hypertensive patients who use incorrectly selected antihypertensive medications. There is no need to try pills that a friend speaks well of. This medicine will help one, but will only harm another. High blood pressure can have various causes, and only a doctor should decide what to take.
Typically, the following drugs are prescribed for hypertension: Corinfar, Cordipine, Adalat, Anaprilin, Propamin, Stobetin, Capoten, Nifedipine, Captopril, Bisoprolol and other drugs.
Taking medications
Norm and upward deviation
The optimal blood pressure level is 120 over 80. But deviations in both directions of 10 units are allowed. Pulse pressure should not be higher than 50. An upward deviation in numbers is dangerous for a person, as it is associated with the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and pulmonary edema.
A blood pressure of 180 over 100 is a serious disorder. According to the modern classification of hypertension, this is the 3rd degree of the disease. Both systolic and diastolic pressure are elevated.
Causes and mechanism of development
According to the development mechanism, there are 2 main forms of pathology:
- Primary hypertension;
- secondary hypertension.
The reasons that lead to increased blood pressure directly depend on the form of the disease. In hypertension, the main pathological factor is an increase in the resistance of the vascular wall. In the primary form, the pathology is often hereditary. Risk factors also include:
- smoking;
- increased body weight (especially abdominal obesity);
- low physical activity;
- excessive salt intake;
- dyslipidemia.
Risk factors for developing hypertension
Secondary hypertension has completely different causes. The increase in blood pressure is based on the pathology of other organs and systems of the endocrine, excretory, nervous systems, as well as organic damage to blood vessels. For example, hypertension can develop as a result of the following diseases:
- thyrotoxicosis;
- Cushing's disease;
- Conn's syndrome;
- coarctation of the aorta;
- Takayasu's disease;
- chronic glomerulonephritis;
- chronic pyelonephritis;
- Kidney amyloidosis.
Causes of secondary hypertension
Hypertension can also develop when taking certain medications. For example, long-term use of glucocorticosteroids often leads to increased blood pressure. Correct determination of the form of arterial hypertension is necessary for effective treatment.
Symptoms of the disorder
With hypertension, symptoms depend on several factors: the duration of the disease, the presence of complications, and the individual characteristics of the body. In an uncomplicated course of the disease, the following clinical signs occur:
- headache – localized mainly in the occipital, frontal region;
- noise in ears;
- dizziness.
If first aid is not provided in time, damage to other organs may occur.
At the same time, new signs are added to the existing clinical picture:
- pain in the heart area;
- painful heartbeat;
- swelling of the lower extremities, face;
- nocturia – increased urine output at night;
- visual impairment;
- general weakness, increased fatigue;
- impairment of memory and other cognitive functions.
Not all symptoms may be present, but only a few. The severity of clinical symptoms depends on which target organs are affected.
If the pressure rises sharply, a hypertensive crisis occurs. When its course is complicated, the symptoms can be very dangerous:
- severe chest pain (with acute coronary syndrome);
- speech impairment, motor function (stroke);
- fainting.
It should also be taken into account that in the initial stage there may be no symptoms at all, but their intensity increases very quickly, which can result in serious consequences, including death.
How does such pressure threaten the body?
A pressure of 180/120 is characteristic of stage 3 hypertension, in which there is a high probability of developing a hypertensive crisis—a sharp rise in blood pressure. An uncomplicated crisis may develop when only the tonometer readings cause alarm, and the person is not bothered by painful sensations. During a hypertensive crisis, serious systemic disturbances in the functioning of the heart, kidneys, brain, and blood vessels occur.
:
- Severe headache and dizziness.
- Nausea, attacks of uncontrollable vomiting.
- Arrhythmia - irregular heart rhythm, increased heart rate.
- Confusion and loss of consciousness.
- Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
- A veil and flickering of “flies” before the eyes, decreased visual acuity and clarity.
- Chest pain, tachycardia.
- Cramps.
- Hemoptysis.
- Facial hyperemia.
- Ringing in the ears.
- Development of paresis and paralysis.
A crisis is extremely dangerous because as a result of this condition, the likelihood of developing severe disorders, even death, increases.
As a result of a hypertensive crisis, a quarter of patients develop pulmonary edema, and more than half develop severe cerebrovascular pathologies such as ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes.
With high blood pressure:
- The heart is forced to work under increased loads - during the diastolic phase, the heart does not completely relax, as a result of which the energy reserve possessed by the myocardial cells is gradually depleted. In this case, there is a lack of oxygen and the development of hypoxia. Over time, pronounced hypertrophy of the left ventricle develops, myocardial cells are replaced by connective tissue. All this leads to an increased risk of myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, heart failure, and sudden cardiac arrest.
- Pathological changes in vascular walls, replacement of muscle tissue with connective tissue, and decreased elasticity significantly accelerate the development of atherosclerosis. In addition, hemorrhages and necrotic lesions occur.
- Pathological changes in the functioning of the brain are observed - memory problems, decreased intellectual abilities, even dementia. If the hypertensive crisis is not relieved for a long time, lacunar microinfarctions develop, resulting in a decrease in brain mass.
- Malfunctions of the kidneys lead to sclerosis of blood vessels and tissues, impaired excretory function, and renal failure.
