Treatment of a hypertensive crisis

Treatment of a hypertensive crisis requires a doctor's practical experience. Only in this case it will be possible to quickly select an effective drug and administer it in the right amount.

Hypertensive crisis - a condition characterized by a sharp jump in pressure. Treatment of pathology is carried out individually, taking into account the characteristics of the course of the disease in a particular patient.

After a crisis, you need to carefully monitor your health and do not forget about prevention.

Causes of the pathological condition

Most often, crises occur when a person has a severe stage of arterial hypertension, which is complicated by atherosclerosis. For a healthy person, such crises are rare.

Crisis situations can be triggered by:

• abuse of coffee drinks;
• severe stress;
• alcohol, smoking;
• hormonal disorders;
• eating large amounts of salt;
• influence of meteorological factors;
• irregular treatment;
• stop taking a blood pressure medication.

The listed reasons contribute to the deterioration of the general condition of the body, and only if a person does not pay attention to such signals, health “fails”. Most often, this failure is manifested by a crisis - a sharp jump in blood pressure.

A hypertensive crisis can cause dangerous complications, for example, swelling of the brain or lung tissue is possible after it. In rare cases, such consequences lead to death.

In the elderly, hypertensive crises are of a long-term nature, especially if arterial hypertension is complicated by atherosclerotic vascular lesions. In this case, in addition to a strong pressure surge, the blood supply to the brain and the functioning of vital organs are disrupted.

Diagnosis of the causes that cause a persistent increase in blood pressure consists in questioning the patient, determining the leading signs, a complete examination of the body with the identification of complications in the work of target organs.

Crisis symptoms

Signs of pathology depend on the stage of hypertension and the presence of complications from the cardiovascular system or target organs (kidneys, liver, retina, brain).

So, against the background of atherosclerosis, a hypertensive crisis manifests itself:

• a state close to loss of consciousness;
• disorders of the digestive system;
• a feeling of increased blood volume in the head;
• darkening and the appearance of flies in the eyes;
• increased auditory and visual irritation;
• buzzing and ringing sensation in the head.

With a headache, tension is felt mainly in the temporal arteries. Due to high blood pressure, there is severe pain in the eyes, photophobia occurs, vision is impaired, diplopia (double vision) appears.

Also, the crisis is characterized by increased drowsiness, pallor of the skin, the appearance of red spots on the face, and a short-term loss of consciousness. High pressure provokes an increase in psychomotor excitability.

With circulatory pathologies in the brain stem or cerebral cortex, neurological disorders most often appear.

Among which:

• numbness and tingling in certain areas of the face;
• numbness of fingers and limbs;
• dizziness;
• violation of visual functions;
• diplopia;
• the appearance of flies before the eyes;
• nosebleeds;
• blood impurities in vomit;
• motor function disorders (in particular, convulsions).

Diagnosis of pathological processes that are localized in the vessels of the brain occurs using MRI or CT. After these examinations, it is possible to identify violations of the blood supply to the brain and tissue nutrition.

How to quickly relieve a hypertensive crisis

With a strong increase in blood pressure, it is urgent to reduce it, using suitable means for this.

To treat an uncomplicated crisis, various medications are used to lower blood pressure.

Nifedipine (Corinfar) is an oral drug that provides a rapid but short-term reduction in blood pressure. It is used mainly for the rapid removal of hypertensive crises, it is used at a dose of 5-10 mg once under the tongue. If there is no effect, it is allowed to reuse the drug. The total daily dose of the active substance should not exceed 30 mg.

The action of Nifedipine is due to the relaxation of the muscular wall of the vessels, due to which the pressure decreases already in the first quarter of an hour after taking the drug. Before the appointment, it is important to make sure that there are no contraindications.

Among them:

• heart failure;
• severe aortic stenosis;
• severe tachycardia;
• pathology of the blood supply to the brain.

In unstable angina, grade 3-4 angina and myocardial infarction, the drug should be prescribed very carefully so as not to cause serious complications.

Modern medicine prefers Captopril. This is a drug that provides a long-term blockade of calcium channels, which is necessary when stopping a hypertensive crisis.

The effect is noticeable within 10 minutes after taking the product, and the result lasts for 5 hours.

Among the contraindications for use are:

• severe degree of renal failure;
• period of gestation;
• lactation.

To quickly cope with a hyperkinetic type crisis (characterized by a significant increase in heart rate), it is advisable to use beta-blockers. They act directly on the causes of hypertension - increased heart rate.

Obzidan is a drug that is used to quickly lower blood pressure. It is administered intravenously, very slowly (within 60 seconds, 1 mg of the drug is injected). The allowable dose of the drug is 2-5 mg.

During the introduction, it is necessary to constantly monitor the ECG readings, heart rate and changes in blood pressure. A complete diagnosis will prevent complications and side effects.

Obzidan is contraindicated:

• with congestive heart failure;
• with pathologies of atrioventricular conduction;
• with bradycardia;
• with bronchial obstruction.

Breviblok is considered an alternative drug to Obzidan. It can be used even if the patient has bronchial asthma or heart failure. Breviblok is a short-acting beta-blocker. A decrease in pressure is observed in the first minute of drug administration and lasts about 20 minutes.

It is necessary to administer the drug slowly, in the first minutes, from 15 to 30 mg of Breviblok (Esmolol) is administered intravenously, and after another 100 mg of the drug, 3-10 mg / minute are administered.

To treat crises of the hypokinetic type (characterized by an increase in resistance in the vessels), Proxodolol is used. This drug, in addition to beta-blocking action, has a pronounced alpha-adrenolytic effect. Due to this, the resistance of peripheral vessels decreases, and their muscle wall also relaxes.

The drug is administered intravenously, the total dosage is 10 ml. Before the introduction of the drug, it is diluted in an isotonic solution of 2 ml / 10 ml, respectively. If there is no effect, you can enter the next dose of the drug. Contraindications of Proxodolol are similar to those of Propranolol (Obzidan).

Preparations to accelerate the effect

Depending on the accompanying symptoms, additional drugs can be used that will help to quickly lower the pressure and reduce the signs of a crisis.

If the patient has pronounced arousal, feelings of fear, panic and convulsive conditions, intravenous administration of Droperidol is prescribed. This drug, in addition to lowering blood pressure, provides a pronounced neuroleptic effect.

Hypokinetic crisis is characterized by swelling of the inner wall of the vessel (intima). The same phenomenon accompanies congestive heart failure. To alleviate the patient's condition will help the introduction of a solution of Furosemide into the vein at a dose of 40-80 ml.

In case of violation of cerebral blood supply, Dibazol is used. It provides a slow decrease in pressure, which prevents the deterioration of the patient's condition. The effectiveness of Dibazol is to expand the peripheral vascular bed and reduce cardiac output.

With the rapid introduction of the drug, the following side effects are noted:

• increased sweating;
• nausea;
• heat;
• headache;
• momentary pressure drop.

Another drug that effectively eliminates circulatory pathologies is Eufillin. It lowers blood pressure, improves blood flow to the brain and has a slight diuretic effect.

In old age, Eufillin should be used very carefully, since the rapid administration of the drug will cause extrasystole or tachycardia. Magnesium sulfate will help expand blood vessels and provide a calming effect.

In the absence of the desired effect when taking medications, it is worthwhile to fully examine the body to identify the root cause that causes secondary hypertension.

Often, poor health is a consequence of an adrenal tumor, kidney disease, and arteriosclerotic damage to the aorta.

Traditional medicine for hypertension

Effective folk remedies that help relieve high blood pressure are garlic and chokeberry.

1. The effectiveness of garlic lies in its properties to reduce the heart rate, due to the increase in the amplitude of contractions, as well as in the ability to dilate blood vessels. Garlic cleanses blood vessels from atherosclerotic plaques, prevents their formation. Daily use of one or two cloves of garlic at home will help maintain blood pressure within normal limits and eliminate the causes of its regular increase.
2. Chokeberry in any form has a positive effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
3. Folk remedies, when properly selected, have a good additional effect on problems that cause an increase in pressure. Also at home, you can take a decoction of rose hips and hawthorn, collections of kidney tea, motherwort, wild rosemary, cudweed.

Only in this case, their effectiveness in the treatment of hypertensive crisis will be noticeable, and the causes of the disease will be neutralized. It is worth remembering the dangers of self-medication. Any folk recipes must be agreed with your doctor before taking.

How to treat a complicated crisis

The treatment of a complicated hypertensive crisis requires not only a good theoretical training of the doctor, but also a rich practical experience.

Since accurate readings of blood pressure are of little use, when choosing drugs, it is necessary to rely mainly on the patient's complaints and symptoms associated with a hypertensive crisis.

The primary tasks of the primary care physician are:

• decrease in blood pressure in the left ventricle;
• improvement of myocardial blood supply;
• a decrease in the volume of blood circulating in the bloodstream;
• elimination of the causes that caused excessive vasoconstriction;
• if the patient has seizures, restoration of blood circulation in the brain.

After the development of complications as a result of a hypertensive crisis, it is worth immediately providing first aid to a person - even at home. If the diagnosis showed the presence of dissection of the aortic aneurysm, you need to lower the pressure very quickly. In case of circulatory disorders of the brain, drugs should provide a slow and gradual decrease in blood pressure in the vessels.

Only patients with the primary development of a hypertensive crisis, as well as people who have developed complications after the crisis, need hospitalization. Treatment of uncomplicated hypertensive crisis consists of intravenous administration of antihypertensive drugs and further outpatient therapy.

Actions after the crisis

A sharp deterioration in the condition is a signal from the body about the need to correct the lifestyle, pay sufficient attention to health. If the hypertensive crisis passed at home without complications (in particular, without a heart attack or stroke), this does not mean that you can ignore this condition and skip going to the doctor.

The advanced stage of hypertension is very dangerous for health, especially if you do not follow the prescriptions of doctors and do not systematically take medications that promote vasodilation. A person who has undergone a state of hypertensive crisis should be fully examined in order to identify possible violations in the functioning of internal organs in time.

The human body quickly gets used to a consistently high pressure, so during crises it becomes larger every time.

1. With hypertension of the first degree, the pressure rises to only 140/90 mm Hg. Art.
2. When the disease is in advanced form, the numbers on the tonometer rise to 220/120 mm Hg. Art., and sometimes even higher.

In this state, the body experiences a strong load, not only the cardiovascular system suffers, but also other internal organs, mainly the brain, kidneys, liver, retina.

It can be concluded that the prevention and timely treatment of hypertension will prevent crises and serious health consequences. Adults need to regularly measure blood pressure at home. This will allow you to identify the onset of hypertension and start preventive measures in time.

Most people do not pay attention to the signals of their body, therefore, until the last moment they do not know about the development of a complicated type of hypertensive crisis. Its diagnosis often occurs in the case of a stroke or heart attack.

In the absence of timely medical care provided at home by ambulance specialists, severe pathologies develop in the body. Target organs (liver, kidneys, eyes, brain, heart) are most affected.