2023-11-21 23:24:30
Winter is a season where health care is more important than other seasons. This is because when the temperature drops, the muscles, blood vessels, and back of our body contract and become stiff. Additionally, as activity decreases and immunity weakens, existing diseases may worsen or hidden diseases may appear.
Professor Chun Doo-su
Especially these days, when cold winds blow and the flu is prevalent, patients who have suffered from high blood pressure for a long time and have developed arteriosclerosis should be especially careful. In fact, deaths due to complications of high blood pressure, such as cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, and myocardial infarction, begin to increase in October and are most common from December to February of the following year. High blood pressure is the most prevalent disease worldwide and is also the strongest risk factor for heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.
◇ Half of cerebrovascular diseases are caused by high blood pressure… Causes arteriosclerosis = High blood pressure is a representative adult disease caused by aging blood vessels. It refers to when the systolic blood pressure in adults is more than 140 mmHg or the diastolic blood pressure is more than 90 mmHg. High blood pressure occurs earlier and more severely in people who have bad lifestyle habits such as smoking, excessive drinking, overeating, and lack of exercise, which accelerate the aging of blood vessels.
It also slowly hardens the arteries, causing arteriosclerosis. Depending on which blood vessel the problem occurs, cerebrovascular disease, chronic renal failure, aortic disease, and fundus hemorrhage may occur, and if blood pressure rises, it can put a strain on the heart and cause heart diseases such as heart failure. In particular, half of cerebrovascular diseases are caused by high blood pressure, 30-35% of heart disease, and 10-15% of renal failure are also caused by high blood pressure.
If you manage high blood pressure well, you can not only avoid heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, but also prevent paralysis, dementia, and breathing difficulties caused by heart failure. In fact, if high blood pressure is well controlled, myocardial infarction can be prevented by 15-20% and heart failure by up to 50%.
◇Special caution is needed in winter… Be careful of colds and drinking alcohol = Mortality rates due to stroke and heart disease also increase in winter. This is because when the temperature drops, blood vessels constrict to prevent heat loss. Various causes, including colds, can affect this. Therefore, in winter when activity decreases, more efforts are needed to improve bad lifestyle habits that raise blood pressure.
Patients with high blood pressure should abstain from alcohol as much as possible. When a person who used to drink quits drinking, systolic blood pressure drops by 3 to 4 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure drops by about 2 mmHg. In this way, the incidence of cardiovascular disease and stroke can be reduced by 6% and 15%, respectively. On the other hand, if you habitually drink more than two or three cups a day, your blood pressure rises and it encourages myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, and arrhythmia.
You should also be careful of colds. This is because patients with arteriosclerosis due to high blood pressure have an increased risk of developing blood clots in blood vessels even from a cold, which can lead to loss of life due to stroke or myocardial infarction. This is why the mortality rate due to COVID-19 infection was high in elderly people with chronic arteriosclerosis. Therefore, it is necessary to make it a habit to wash your hands after going out and to get vaccinated against pneumonia and influenza.
◇Improvement of correct lifestyle habits is the fundamental treatment = High blood pressure is usually asymptomatic in most cases. If you have symptoms such as headache, shortness of breath, or chest pain, they can be seen as symptoms of complications caused by high blood pressure rather than symptoms of high blood pressure itself. Even if there are no symptoms, if left untreated, serious complications such as heart disease and cerebrovascular disease can occur, so it is important to prevent them in advance.
First, measuring blood pressure is important in preventing and treating high blood pressure. It is a good idea to check your blood pressure accurately by visiting a hospital or on your own on a regular basis.
Blood pressure changes several times a day and is affected by exercise, posture, diet, and temperature. Therefore, for correct measurement, you should refrain from smoking, drinking coffee, eating, or exercising at least 30 minutes in advance, sit straight in a chair while resting for at least 3 minutes, place your arm on the desk, and measure at heart level.
It is best to measure your body and mind twice, at 2-minute intervals, before breakfast and before going to bed, in a state where your body and mind are most comfortable. Once you start measuring, it is recommended to measure for 7 consecutive days. This measurement method can minimize changes in blood pressure depending on the situation.
Improving lifestyle habits such as smoking cessation, abstinence from drinking, weight control, dietary therapy, stress management, and regular exercise are the fundamental treatments for high blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure before or after the borderline, it can be treated simply by following the right lifestyle habits.
Avoid smoking and drinking, which can increase blood pressure, and have good eating habits that avoid soups and eat a variety of side dishes. Doing aerobic exercise such as jogging or swimming for 30 minutes a day, at least five times a week, can also help reduce blood pressure.
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