Hypertension, which occurs when blood pressure rises, brings with it the risks of stroke and coronary heart disease. Stating that smoking, weight, excessive fatty diet and salt consumption trigger hypertension, Uzm. Dr. Güzin Oğuz stated that in order to prevent hypertension; smoking should be quit and drew attention to the importance of healthy nutrition and exercise.
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Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Güzin Oğuz gave important information about what should be done to prevent hypertension.
Pay attention to these symptoms!
"Hypertension, which is a disease diagnosed with various measurement methods, has no symptoms that clearly indicate that it is found," said Specialist. Dr. Güzin Oğuz,
"Patients present with different complaints such as headache, dizziness, ringing in the ears, feeling of pressure in the chest, feeling of pressure in the chest when climbing stairs, nosebleeds, visual disturbances such as blurred vision, pain in the neck, frequent urination at night, swelling in the legs and symptoms that can be seen in many other diseases."
Who is at risk?
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Güzin Oğuz listed the people at risk of hypertension as follows:
- "People with a family history of hypertension and cardiovascular disease,
-Those with impaired cholesterol values or those with a family history of cholesterol disease,
-People with diabetes or a family history of diabetes,
-Smokers,
People who do not follow a Mediterranean diet and eat a high-fat animal-based diet,
-People with obesity, people with sedentary lives who do not or cannot do physical exercise,
-Snoring and people who stop breathing during sleep,
-People with a nervous panic sensitive stressful personality structure."
What should be done to prevent hypertension?
"New arrangements in the way of life are an issue that must be made and internalized before drug treatment, as well as being important in order to prevent its development," said Uzm. Dr. Güzin Oğuz listed the things to be done to prevent hypertension as follows:
"Quitting smoking: Smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases 2-3 times. Positive changes begin to be seen in about 1 year after quitting. Smoking causes hypertension by disrupting the vascular structure itself and negatively affecting blood cholesterol values, increasing insulin resistance. There are no studies showing that quitting smoking alone reduces blood pressure. However, smoking cessation is necessary to prevent resistance to drug treatment in hypertension and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Obesity - weight loss: A body mass index (BMI) of 27 or more is associated with high blood pressure. A significant reduction in blood pressure measurements with 5 kg weight loss has been proven by studies. When weight control is accompanied by appropriate diet and exercise, the long-term reduction rate increases.
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Salt restriction: Salt and sodium should not be confused. Chloride enhances the effect of sodium. Sodium is mostly ingested in the form of table salt/NaCl. When sodium is taken in other forms (such as Na bicarbonate), it does not increase blood pressure much. An average of 5 weeks of salt restriction is required to achieve a decrease in blood pressure. This effect is greater in elderly hypertensives. Patients should be advised to take less than 100 mmol (5.8 g) of sodium per day or less than 6 g of NaCl (salt) per day. A significant portion of dietary sodium comes from processed foods. Such foods should be avoided and salt shakers should not be used at the table. Sodium restriction increases the effect of antihypertensive drugs.
Potassium intake: Approximately 90 mmol of potassium per day from diet, fresh fruits and vegetables lowers blood pressure in hypertensives. Considering our blood pressure medication groups that affect the potassium value, of course, controlled recommendations are required in terms of the appropriateness of the necessary supplementation, taking into account the physician's recommendation.
Calcium intake: Studies have shown conflicting results in the relationship between blood pressure level and dietary calcium intake.
Magnesium intake: Studies have shown a higher rate of hypertension in those on a low magnesium diet. However, this association is not sufficient to require magnesium intake to lower blood pressure.
Vegetarian diet: Vegetarians tend to have lower blood pressure. Hypertensive patients following a vegetarian diet showed a decrease in blood pressure within 6 weeks.
Dietary fat: Clinical, controlled studies have shown that polyunsaturated, monounsaturated or saturated fatty acids in the diet have no significant effect on blood pressure.
Fish oil: Omega-3 polyunsaturated polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3-PUFA) 3-6 g per day can lower blood pressure.
Protein: Studies have reported that blood pressure was lower in people whose dietary protein intake was 30% higher than normal compared to those whose dietary protein intake was 30% lower than normal.
Carbohydrates: There are studies suggesting that refined sugars tend to increase blood pressure and complex sugars tend to decrease blood pressure. However, the findings on this issue are not conclusive.
Caffeine: Caffeine raises blood pressure for a few hours. However, with subsequent caffeine intake, tolerance to this sudden blood pressure-raising effect develops immediately. Within 12 hours, tolerance largely disappears. The blood pressure raising effect of caffeine taken by drinking 3-4 cups of coffee a day differs in hypertensive patients. Therefore, the blood pressure raising effect of caffeine should be checked by measuring blood pressure in each patient. If a significant blood pressure raising effect is found, decaffeinated beverages should be recommended.
Other factors: Although there are studies suggesting that vitamin C may lower blood pressure, there is no conclusive evidence. Acupuncture has not been shown to lower blood pressure in controlled clinical trials. Again, garlic and onion have not been found to have a sustained lowering effect on blood pressure in controlled studies.
Alcohol use: The rate of hypertension is high in those whose daily intake of ethyl alcohol exceeds 28-55 g. Sudden blood pressure rise is observed in these people. In these people, alcohol reduces the effect of antihypertensive drugs and increases the risk of stroke. People who drink alcohol heavily at the weekend (5 or more doubles) may have high blood pressure at the beginning of the week due to sudden alcohol withdrawal.
Physical activity: The risk of developing hypertension is 20-50% higher in people who lead a sedentary lifestyle than in those with regular physical activity. Hypertensives who do regular aerobic exercise have a decrease in blood pressure. Hypertensive patients should take brisk walks for 30-45 minutes at least 3-4 times a week, reaching 60-70% of the target heart rate. This type of exercise is more effective than jogging or running. Bodybuilding exercises are not suitable for hypertensives. The use of antihypertensive medication is not an obstacle for aerobic exercises. Under the supervision of a physician, an exercise plan should be drawn up with appropriate medication arrangements.
Psychological stress and relaxation techniques: Emotional stress can cause a sudden increase in blood pressure. Cognitive-behavioral approaches such as biological feed-back, yoga, meditation, psychotherapy can provide short-term reduction in blood pressure. However, the long-term beneficial effects of these methods are not known. Studies are ongoing in this direction."
Reduce fat and salt, exercise at least 30 minutes a day
Dr. Güzin Oğuz, Internal Medicine Specialist at Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital, made the following recommendations to hypertension patients:
- "Restricting salt intake to 5-6 g daily (1 teaspoon daily),
Consume more vegetables, fruits and low-fat dairy products,
-Reduce BMI to 25 kg/m2 unless prohibited, and reduce waist circumference to <96 cm in men and <90 cm in women,
-Regular exercise, i.e. at least 30 minutes of moderate dynamic exercise 5-7 days a week,
-Advising and supporting all smokers to quit smoking
is recommended."
