Arterial Hypertension (AHT) affects 35% of adults in Spain, and reaches up to 68% in adults over 65 years of age. If these figures are worrying, the following ones are even more so. Blood pressure control rates in Spain are only 40% of patients treated in primary care, while in the general population the figure is only 25%. These are very worrying figures.
Early detection is essential to reduce the complications of the disease in the population. The hypertensive person does not respond to a clear and defined profile, although people with a family history are the most likely to suffer from this pathology. Those who are overweight or who lead a sedentary life, in addition to patients with an unhealthy lifestyle and who abuse salt, added to those who are subjected to constant stress, whether at work or personal, are also susceptible to hypertension.
Treatment
When the disease progresses, cardiovascular symptoms, chest pain, fatigue, edema or loss of intellectual faculties may appear. These are symptoms that the disease is in an advanced stage, and therefore should be treated, although in some cases it manifests itself in a catastrophic way: a heart attack, stroke, etc. Fortunately, these cases have been reduced nowadays thanks to the advances in Preventive Medicine.
The most appropriate measure is prevention. The best treatment to prevent arterial hypertension is to maintain an ideal weight, lead an active life with regular physical activity, reduce the intake of salt, coffee or other caffeinated foods, and avoid smoking. When these measures fail, pharmacological treatment should be initiated.
Latest advances
Proteins present in the artery wall determine the diameter of the arteries. This is one of the discoveries made in recent times. Progress is also being made in the discovery of enzymes, substances that normalize blood pressure. Another advance is renal denervation, which consists of inhibiting sympathetic activity at the renal level, which plays an important role in the onset and maintenance of arterial hypertension.