Doctors warn: pressure must be monitored, if it often rises by a lot, it can be dangerous to health and even in some cases pose a threat to life. In our article, we will talk about why pressure rises. The reasons for this phenomenon may be different, but there is one consequence - poor health, which worsens as the numbers on the tonometer increase.
However, for many years they have been living under high pressure and do not even know what kind of Damocles sword they go under. And all because they don’t visit doctors and don’t have a tonometer at home. The article will list the main signs of high blood pressure - please pay special attention to this information! If you find the indicated symptoms in yourself, then this is a good reason to visit the clinic for the control measurement of pressure. Perhaps it's time to start taking medications that will correct the situation.
What pressure is considered normal
Before you begin to find out why the pressure rises, the reasons and factors affecting this process, let's determine what can be considered the norm. Many people, even those who have nothing to do with medicine, are ready to answer straight away that normal considered pressure 120 to 70. Is this correct? And yes and no, oddly enough. The indicated values are ideal pressure. Such figures are the standard for young and full-bodied people, about twenty to thirty years old.
But if the age of thirty years has already been passed and a person is a little overweight and does not move much, then his pressure could well increase by a dozen units - 130 by 80. And this will also fit into normal indicators. Those. obviously it is not worth counting on a sick leave with such numbers of blood pressure. But if a patient at the age of thirty or younger is at a pressure of 140 to 90, then this is cause for concern. Such a symptom may indicate a tendency to hypertension. But for people of the older age category - after 45 years - 140/90 can also be considered the norm. In that case, if higher blood pressure indicators are observed , this already requires medical examination and treatment.
Upper and lower pressure
People often ask about why lower blood pressure rises. There are two indicators of blood pressure: upper pressure (systolic) - it determines how much the heart pushes blood into the arteries, and lower (diastolic) - it measures the parameter of blood pressure at the moment when the heart is as relaxed as possible. Upper blood pressure affects how much the heart pushes blood into the arteries; lower blood pressure is responsible for vascular tone.
It often happens that while the upper pressure remains almost normal or rises slightly, the lower blood pressure creeps up and the difference between the two indicators becomes very small. This is not a good sign. Why does lower blood pressure rise? There is no single answer to this question. Understand in each case the attending physician. The reason may lie in a serious disease of the cardiovascular system. If the lower blood pressure is constantly fluctuating in values from 90 to 99 mm RT. Art., this indicates the presence of stage 1 hypertension; indicators from 100 to 109 mm RT. Art. indicate 2 stages, and if the numbers are off scale above 110 mm RT. Art., then this means that hypertension has already developed to the third, most dangerous stage.
Why does blood pressure rise at night, evening or morning?
Hypertension is a very unpredictable disease, and it manifests itself differently in different people. There is a large group of people prone to increased pressure, in whom blood pressure is kept within normal limits throughout the day and begins to rise closer to the evening hours. Why does blood pressure rise in the evening? During the day, the body accumulates fatigue, reserves are depleted and, as a result of this, blood pressure indicators become higher.
In the day there are peculiar boundaries or certain barriers when the well-being of people worsens. This usually happens after 16.00, when the day begins to decline towards evening, and at night, when the night is nearing completion - at 4 o’clock in the morning. According to statistics, it is precisely at these indicated time intervals that the number of ambulance calls increases.
Why does blood pressure rise in the morning? Often this is facilitated by a plentiful preliminary dinner, consisting of fatty and excessively high-calorie and salty foods or an uncomfortable body position during sleep, and more often both. If during the day, even with a sedentary lifestyle, a person still moves, which stimulates blood circulation, then in a dream blood circulation may deteriorate due to immobility, which ultimately leads to unnecessary strain on the vessels.
Signs of high blood pressure
Unfortunately, it happens that a person may not feel at all that his pressure has increased. That is why among doctors, hypertension is usually called the "silent killer." If you do not take measures in time and lower the pressure, then this can lead to a stroke or heart attack. But in most people, organisms are more sensitive, and they can determine by their health that pressure is rising. Here are a number of symptoms specific to this condition:
- Dizziness.
- Pressive or throbbing headaches.
- Darkening in the eyes (with a sharp jump in blood pressure).
- Interruptions in heart rate.
- Sometimes - excessive sweating, a feeling of heat.
- In severe cases - shortness of breath, the formation of edema.
If you are alarmed by any of the above, then perhaps there is no reason for particular concern. But if there is a whole bunch of symptoms available, then it is better not to joke with your own health and undergo a routine examination or buy a tonometer and measure the pressure yourself.
Why pressure rises - reasons
This is a very difficult question, because the reason may not be one, but the whole complex. Trying to understand on your own what led to the increase in pressure is not worth it. Consultation with a doctor is required here. In our article, we can give only a few generalized reasons. These include:
- Existing heart problems.
- Violations of the kidneys.
- Poor vascular tone.
- Malfunctioning at a hormonal level.
- Taking certain medications (such as hormones).
- Inflammation and injury.
For each item listed, you can write a separate doctoral dissertation - "Why blood pressure rises." In the framework of this article, we only talk about the most common factors that are directly capable of affecting the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
Stress
Let's look at what stress is. This is a human reaction that occurs in response to emotional irritation, both positive and negative. At this moment, the body produces adrenaline - the stress hormone. Thanks to its action, the heart begins to contract harder and faster, while narrowing the blood vessels, which contributes to increased pressure. When an emergency occurs, stress hormone can help a person activate internal reserves and solve a problem. This works well when a person is in heavy traffic, for example, running away from danger, etc. In this case, excess adrenaline is simply burned in the working muscles and does not harm the body.
Modern people most often experience stressful situations, being at rest (at work, at home, in exams). Why does blood pressure rise if a person is very nervous? The following chain of processes is launched in the body: the stress hormone is secreted in excess - the heart is working harder - the vessels are narrowing, and muscle discharge does not occur. All this leads to the fact that the work of the cardiovascular system is disrupted, and hypertension is gradually formed in a person.
Alcohol abuse
Remember how in the movie "Diamond Hand" the captain suggests Semen Semenovich Gorbunkov to drink some cognac in order to get rid of unnecessary excitement? At the same time, he says: "Doctors recommend!" But the truth is, a small amount of cognac (30-70 g per day) contributes to the soft expansion of blood vessels and has an antispasmodic effect. Due to all of the above, the pressure decreases.
But if the specified norm is exceeded, the effect of cognac will be the opposite. This happens because if a large dose of alcohol enters the bloodstream, then narrowing of the vessels quickly replaces the expansion of blood vessels. The cardiovascular system begins to experience overload - hence the increase in blood pressure. Is it any wonder why blood pressure rises sharply! And do not think that all of the above applies only to cognac. If the drink you drink contains alcohol, and you sort out the amount you drink, then this is definitely not useful.
Ambulance doctors know how dramatically the number of calls increases after the festivities with heavy libations. For many citizens, the morning after the holiday begins with a severe headache (a hangover syndrome). This condition indicates spasm of the vessels of the brain, and it is good if the body has enough of its own reserves to deal with it. Drinking people should not be perplexed why the pressure rises in the morning, they need to be prepared for such unpleasant surprises. Sometimes a sharp jump in blood pressure (hypertensive crisis) can occur, which can result in a severe heart attack or stroke.
Smoking
Many people acquire a bad smoking habit in their very young years, when their health and strength are in excess and they somehow cannot believe that cigarettes can subsequently bring serious troubles to life. Nicotine, like alcohol, causes vasoconstriction. Moreover, by analogy with alcohol, after a smoked cigarette, a short-term improvement in well-being can be observed (the vessels expand for a short time, the headache goes away, etc.). This is due to the powerful release of endorphins and some other substances into the blood. Next comes the second phase, when the vessels narrow and spasm. Why does the pressure rise sharply in this case? Yes, because the work of the cardiovascular system is disrupted.
One cigarette can not do any serious harm to health, but with each smoked pack the smoker is approaching the development of the disease - hypertension, when blood pressure is steadily kept at high values. Not only nicotine, but also other components of cigarettes have negative effects on the walls of blood vessels, on their structure and structure.
Overweight
Of course, not only fat people, but people of different weight categories suffer from high blood pressure. Nevertheless, overweight sufferers are more likely than others to observe high blood pressure. Doctors have long recognized the fact that there is a close connection between arterial hypertension and obesity. Most often, arterial hypertension occurs in persons with central type obesity, which is accompanied by the following symptoms: dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance.
Excess weight places an additional burden on the cardiovascular system, and this leads to the development of various diseases.
Recently, German scientists conducted studies in which they observed how fat cells (adipocytes) affect the cellular structures of the adrenal cortex, which are responsible for the production of the hormone aldosterone. It is known that this hormone is a regulator of the metabolism of minerals in the body (mainly water, potassium and sodium) and, due to this, is able to influence the increase in blood pressure.
So, the researchers had the opportunity to see what is called firsthand, as in the presence of fat cells and the fatty acids secreted by them, triglycerides, leptin, etc., the production of aldosterone increased 7 times in the adrenal cortex. Now scientists intend to find out exactly which secretions of fat cells are directly responsible for the release of aldosterone.
What foods increase pressure
People with high blood pressure should review their diet. There are products that are very unfavorable for this category of people. These include, first of all, various salinity and drinks containing caffeine.
Doctors say tirelessly about the dangers of excessive salt intake, but you really want to eat tasty ... But meanwhile, when a lot of salt enters the body, it causes intense thirst and, as a result, the use of large volumes of water that is not excreted from the body - sodium chloride ( salt) holds her there. Edema occurs in the body, the blood volume increases, the load on the cardiovascular system increases incredibly and the pressure rises. People who care about their own health should limit or even completely remove all of the following from their table:
- Sauerkraut (it can be eaten only by pre-washing).
- Smoked fish, including smoked.
- Pickled and salted mushrooms.
- Pickles and tomatoes.
- Olives and olives.
- Various canned food.
- Fat.
Coffee and tea are the favorite drinks of modern people. They perfectly tone the body, but at the same time, unfortunately, contribute to increased pressure. And all because of the substance caffeine that enters them. Moreover, few people know that green tea, which is often advertised as a health product, contains as much as four times more caffeine than black tea. Caffeine is also a part of cocoa beans. So both cocoa and chocolate can also adversely affect pressure.
How to measure pressure
Blood pressure can be measured independently at home. Before going to the doctor and asking about why the pressure rises at night or in the morning, it would be nice to measure your pressure over several days, at different times of the day. To do this, you must have a special pressure gauge. Today in the pharmacy you can freely purchase both mechanical and mercury, as well as automatic devices for measuring pressure. The latter are most convenient, since they do not require any special skills. To obtain more accurate numbers, it is recommended that you observe the following rules:
- For half an hour before measuring pressure, you must refrain from taking medications, food, strong tea or coffee, or smoking.
- The hand on which the cuff is fixed should be approximately at the level of the heart.
- The first measurement of blood pressure should be done alternately on the left and right hands. If there is a difference in readings equal to 10 mm RT. Art. or exceeding this figure, then re-measurement should be carried out on the arm where the pressure is greater.
- The cuff is fixed above the elbow bend by 2 cm, the pressure must be uniformly produced.
A detailed instruction is attached to each device for measuring blood pressure, which gradually describes how to use it.
Prevention
Having examined the topic of why pressure rises in humans, we cannot but talk about prevention. Preventive measures are very simple and constitute a general set of rules for people who care about their health.
1. It is necessary to decisively reject such bad habits as smoking and abuse of alcohol-containing drinks.
2. Monitor your weight.
3. Try to control the amount of salt eaten.
4. Go in for physical education.
5. Try to avoid stressful situations whenever possible.
Conclusion
We tried to examine in detail the question of why the pressure rises. The reasons for the development of hypertension, as you can see, often depend on the wrong behavior of the people themselves, their unwillingness to listen to the advice and warnings of doctors. Be mindful of yourself. We wish you good health!