What is a hypertensive crisis?

Hypertensive crisis is considered one of the most serious complications of hypertension. The crisis must be able to determine in order to provide timely assistance to the patient.

This condition is characterized by a significant increase in blood pressure. This causes a number of unpleasant symptoms and disrupts the functions of all organs and systems.

The causes of hypertensive crisis are different. A crisis of any severity is dangerous.

This condition can even last for several days, so at the first symptoms it is necessary to call a doctor, since a severe crisis can be fatal.

What causes a state of crisis

The causes of hypertensive crisis are very different. This condition can be provoked by external and internal factors.

The main causes of complications are:

• arterial hypertension of any kind;
• stress and overwork;
• abuse of salty foods and alcoholic beverages;
• unfavorable ecological situation and strong climatic changes;
• abrupt cancellation of the use of antihypertensive drugs;
• decreased concentration of potassium ions in the blood;
• postmenopausal syndrome;
• cerebral ischemia;
• Cushing's disease;
• tumor of the substance of the adrenal glands;
• diabetes;
• kidney pathology.

In older people, this condition lasts a long time and is quite difficult. It begins to develop unexpectedly, while cerebral blood flow is disturbed and blood pressure increases.

How the disease manifests itself

This condition often causes death of hypertensive patients. It can lead to a stroke or heart attack. This is because high blood pressure interferes with the circulation of blood in the body, resulting in life-threatening complications.

The following symptoms indicate the development of a hypertensive crisis:

• feeling of anxiety and anxiety;
• arrhythmia;
• feeling short of breath;
• increased sweating;
• redness of the face.

Since the cerebral circulation is disturbed, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and impaired vision occur.

Clinical manifestations of the pathological condition may be different. But in the early stages, such complications are usually manifested by a headache of such strength that nausea and vomiting, tinnitus occur. Unpleasant symptoms are aggravated during movement. In addition, in the light or during movement, the eyes may hurt.

The head may begin to hurt due to neurosis and occur in attacks in the form of a feeling of throbbing or dull pain. This symptom most often begins to bother after waking up or in the evening. Unpleasant sensations may occur in the temples or the back of the head. The reasons for this phenomenon are that increased pressure leads to disturbances in the outflow of venous blood and stretching of the veins. This increases the amount of cerebrospinal fluid and causes pain.

Such a crisis causes nausea, vomiting and visual disturbances.

Very often, a hypertensive crisis is accompanied by dizziness. This is a very unpleasant symptom, which is accompanied by nausea.

There are the following types of dizziness:

• the symptom arises or intensifies during a change in the position of the head;
• the position of the head does not affect the intensity of the symptom.

Degrees of complication

How much the nervous system will suffer during a hypertensive crisis depends on the degree of complication.

The first degree is characterized by the occurrence of a neurotic syndrome. In the second degree, the functions of the hypothalamus are impaired. Hypothalamus disorders affect women over 40 years of age.

Hypertensive crises are dangerous because they occur abruptly, without warning of their occurrence. How long this state will last depends on the degree of the crisis. The average duration of the crisis reaches several days. Clinical manifestations can be noticed already from the first minutes or within one or two hours from the onset.

Types of crises

For each person, blood pressure has its own norm. If low blood pressure prevails throughout life, then even a slight increase can cause a hypertensive crisis.

Hypertensive crises (the classification of which depends on the symptoms, the risk of complications, how high the blood pressure is above normal) require immediate medical attention, regardless of the type.

Features of hyperkinetic and eukinetic crises

Hyperkinetic crisis develops with hypertension of the first and second degree. In most patients, this causes a severe headache, flies appear before the eyes, and the general condition of the body worsens significantly.

The beginning of this type is evidenced by nervous excitement, a feeling of heat in the whole body, trembling, a strong heartbeat, and increased sweating. Red spots may appear on the skin. Since the pulse is very fast, the heart may begin to hurt.

Hyperkinetic crisis does not have serious health consequences. It lasts two or three hours and is manifested by impaired vision, hearing, and a decrease in heart rate. This crisis "increases" the chances that an ischemic stroke will occur.

Eukinetic crisis occurs in people who suffer from hypertension of the second and third degree. With this crisis, blood pressure rises sharply, but the unpleasant symptoms that occur in other types do not develop.

Uncomplicated crisis

For this species, a characteristic feature is a very severe pain in the head. With the development of a crisis, a person begins to feel sick, dizzy and vision problems arise.

An uncomplicated crisis is accompanied by chills, internal trembling and cold sweat. This problem is successfully dealt with with the help of drugs to lower blood pressure. In this crisis, there are no lesions of internal organs, but it can greatly harm health, is life-threatening, so it is important to normalize blood pressure as soon as possible.

Complicated hypertensive crisis

This condition poses a serious danger to humans. Such a crisis affects only those who have hypertension already at the last stage. The consequence of it may be a stroke, diseases of the central nervous system.

Complicated hypertensive crisis gradually begins to affect the patient and reaches its peak for several days. At the initial stages of development, a person develops severe drowsiness and a feeling of heaviness in the head, begins to ring in the ears. As the internal organs are damaged, a person begins to feel violations of the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system.

Relief does not occur: if the patient lies down, breathing difficulties arise in this position. The condition of the skin also changes: it becomes red, dry and cold.

The degree of risk to human life in a complicated crisis is very high. It is important to bring your blood pressure back to normal. Even after the blood pressure is lowered, the person may still experience symptoms for some time.

Complicated hypertensive crisis is:

• cerebral,
• coronary,
• asthmatic.

cerebral crisis

This type significantly disrupts cerebral blood flow. This condition is characterized by increased urine output and emotional instability.

If a cerebral crisis disrupts the work of the hypothalamus, the patient develops neuroses. People with hypertension of the second degree suffer greatly from changes in the weather, especially from a decrease in atmospheric pressure. This greatly enhances the symptoms of the crisis.

Cerebral crisis causes cerebrovascular accident. This has consequences in the form of dizziness and disturbances in the visual perception of the surrounding world.

This type is most often caused by stress and depression.

Cerebral crisis (based on how much the vessels of the brain are affected) is divided into the following subspecies:

1. Angiohypotonic develops due to a decrease in vascular tone. During this crisis, a person feels severe pain in the occipital region and increased pressure on the eyes.
2. An ischemic crisis develops when, due to high blood pressure, the arteries suffer from spasms, which does not supply enough oxygen to the body, which can have serious consequences. The symptoms of this crisis depend on the degree of its development. At the very beginning, a person becomes too emotional and energetic. Gradually there is irritability and aggressiveness. In the future, an ischemic crisis leads to impaired vision and speech, numbness or tingling in the body.
3. Complex cerebral combines the mechanisms of action of the previous two types. It manifests itself in the same way as angiohypotension, but often significantly increases blood pressure.

Cerebral crisis is a serious danger to life, so you need to urgently call a doctor at the first sign of a problem.

Features of the neurovegetative crisis

This condition occurs very abruptly. Its cause is an increase in adrenaline in the blood (most often as a result of stress). It can be distinguished from others by noticing a slight increase in temperature, if the head starts to hurt, nausea appears and the hands tremble. In this state, a person can be for several hours. It's unpleasant, but not life-threatening. After normalization of the condition, there may be frequent urge to urinate.

Edema crisis

This type of hypertensive crisis usually affects the fair sex. This happens if a woman drinks a lot of water or other liquids. At the same time, the hands and face swell strongly, the head hurts, nausea and weakness in the muscles occur, and sometimes vision and hearing are impaired. This state can last for several days.

convulsive crisis

This type is very rare and is one of the most dangerous. This condition can result in cerebral hemorrhage. Pathology is accompanied not only by headache and other symptoms characteristic of other crises, but can also cause convulsions and lead to loss of consciousness.

Hypertensive crisis in children and adolescents

A hypertensive crisis in those who suffer from arterial hypertension may occur if:

• the child/adolescent suffers from kidney disease;
• there are deviations in the work of the cardiovascular system;
• received a severe head injury;
• there was a hormonal failure;
• regularly used strong drugs or narcotics.

In adolescents, symptoms depend on the type of crisis. With a hyperkinetic crisis, adolescents begin to have a severe headache, nausea and vomiting, weakness, a sense of fear and overexcitation, the pulse quickens and pain is felt in the region of the heart. The duration of the attack depends on the type. With hyperkinetic - no more than three hours.

Hypokinetic crisis in adolescents develops slowly. You can observe changes in the central nervous system, the level of norepinephrine in the blood increases. This condition in adolescents can last up to several days.

Significantly increase the chances that an ischemic stroke will occur, the lungs or brain will swell.

If this condition occurs in adolescents, then it is necessary to gradually reduce the pressure to normal for the age of the child. For adolescents in this state, bed rest, constant pressure measurement, and health monitoring are indicated.

How to deal with the problem is decided based on how much the hypertensive crisis has harmed the state of the body of adolescents.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of the disease is to measure blood pressure. It is impossible not to take into account the fact that for each person a different pressure is considered the norm.

An accurate diagnosis can be made using methods such as:

• electrocardiogram;
• ultrasound examination of the heart;
• urine test to determine the level of creatinine and potassium.

Also, the patient needs to visit an ophthalmologist, cardiologist and nephrologist. This will rule out other diseases and help make an accurate diagnosis.

Differential diagnosis should be carried out as soon as possible, since every hour counts.

Lack of timely assistance leads to an increased risk of serious complications. Therefore, when the first symptoms of hypertensive pathology occur, urgent diagnosis is necessary.

Treatment Methods

A hypertensive crisis can occur suddenly, even when a person feels well. The main risk factors are most often unhealthy diet and lifestyle. Also, the state of health may worsen if the patient stops drinking prescribed drugs without consulting a doctor.

At the first symptoms of pathology, it is important not only for the doctor to make an accurate diagnosis, but also for the relatives of the patient to provide the necessary assistance. After first aid, the patient must be urgently taken to the hospital.

To avoid the development of serious complications, the following recommendations must be observed:

1. The patient must be put to bed before the arrival of the doctor. It is better if it is a semi-sitting position, this can weaken the attacks of suffocation.
2. The complication is often accompanied by chills and trembling, so everything must be done so that the patient does not freeze. Feet should be wrapped, you can put a heating pad on them.
3. Fresh air must be supplied to the room where the patient lies.
4. After that, the patient should be given an antihypertensive drug prescribed by a doctor. You can not suddenly reduce the pressure. This must be done gradually.
5. If you have a severe headache, you should take a diuretic tablet.
6. For pain in the heart, you can take a tablet of validol or nitroglycerin. But it is impossible in this state to use drugs that the patient has not taken before.
7. It is necessary to provide the patient with a positive psychological climate. Relatives should support the patient and inspire him with confidence in recovery.

After arrival, the ambulance doctor injects an antihypertensive drug to relieve the manifestations of the crisis and hospitalizes the patient. If the crisis is uncomplicated, then after the relief of symptoms with an injection of antihypertensive drugs, outpatient treatment is prescribed.

Doctors should closely monitor blood pressure levels and symptoms. It is very important that the patient can correctly describe his feelings.

A noticeable improvement in the patient's well-being is observed with the use of clonidine. It well reduces blood pressure, especially if the crisis is accompanied by a rapid heartbeat.

Clonidine is administered intramuscularly or intravenously. The effect of the drug can be seen after 15 minutes. The injection should be done slowly so that acute vascular insufficiency does not occur. After the administration of the drug, it is important that the patient rests for several hours.

It is worth knowing that it is necessary to reduce blood pressure to such an extent until the patient becomes better. You don't need to achieve normal levels.

In addition to means to reduce pressure, it is necessary to use drugs that will restore the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

A hypertensive crisis often develops when the patient does not follow the recommendations of a specialist.

Diet for pathology

In addition to the use of drugs, it is necessary to follow the recommendations that call for adjusting the diet and lifestyle.

Diet plays an important role in the treatment and prevention of hypertensive crisis.

Proper nutrition includes the following recommendations:

1. Nutrition should be rational. You need to consume enough calories. If you are overweight, a low-calorie diet is important. It has been proven that with hypertension of the first degree, weight loss leads to normalization of blood pressure.
2. The diet prohibits the use of table salt. Compliance with this recommendation leads to a decrease in pressure. This happens because the amount of water in the blood decreases. A salt-free diet significantly increases the effectiveness of treatment. In some cases, the exclusion of salt from the diet leads to a decrease in blood pressure even without the use of drugs. But to achieve this effect, the diet must be followed for at least a week.
3. The diet should include foods containing calcium, magnesium, potassium. Especially these microelements are necessary if diuretics were prescribed.
4. To avoid the development of atherosclerosis, it is necessary to include polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet. This can be done with vegetable oil, fish oil, seafood.
5. Overweight people need to reduce the amount of sugar. A diet with a reduction in this product will help to avoid serious complications. At the same time, you need to increase your fiber intake.
6. The diet should include enough protein. To do this, it is better to use fish and milk, to give up meat and eggs.
7. You need to eat at least five times a day, but you can not eat before bedtime.
8. The diet should also include vitamins A, E, C, group B drugs.

Immediately after the crisis, a salt-free diet is necessary. Salt must not be added during cooking. Gradually, you can increase the amount of salt, but not more than four grams.

For several days after stabilization of the condition, it is desirable to arrange fasting days (vegetable or dairy).

No matter how old a person is, problems with blood pressure can lead to complications. Regardless of how long this condition lasts, all types of hypertensive crises are dangerous.