Top 10 Signs to Identify Hypertension

Headaches are the most common symptom among those with hypertension. Headaches caused by high blood pressure often spread throughout the head, causing a sensation of tightness and throbbing pain along the arteries. According to studies by many doctors and experts, 50.3% of hypertension patients experience headaches. What's more dangerous is that most patients with headaches often buy painkillers without realizing the risk of hypertension. The explanation for the frequent occurrence of headaches when blood pressure rises is that increased blood pressure increases the constant pressure of blood flow on the artery walls, causing them to gradually expand and develop injuries. These injuries progressively occur in small blood vessels in the brain, causing tension headaches, which are early signs of hypertension-related strokes.

In severe cases, sudden increases in blood flow pressure can cause severe headaches (encountered in malignant hypertension episodes), potentially leading to blood vessel rupture and brain hemorrhage. If minor injuries occur, the capillary system and fibrin fibers will come to repair the wound and form blood clots, causing blockages in the blood vessels. Blood vessel ruptures or blockages in the brain both interrupt blood supply, resulting in localized cerebral ischemia, leading to clinical symptoms ranging from mild headaches and dizziness to severe strokes with symptoms like facial asymmetry, unconsciousness, hemiplegia, and even death. Facing these hypertension-induced headaches, patients must consider various factors, including maintaining blood pressure at safe levels and preventing the risk of cerebral blood vessel damage or blockages, ensuring good blood flow to the brain is paramount.

High blood pressure, commonly known as hypertension, is a prevalent condition where the blood pressure against artery walls is too high. If this blood pressure remains elevated over time, it can lead to various other health issues, even dangerous complications, threatening the patient's life. Fatigue is a quite common symptom among hypertensive patients. However, this symptom is not truly specific to high blood pressure, hence it can be mistaken for many other causes, and patients often overlook it.

Hypertension is the primary cause of complications such as stroke, coronary artery disease, kidney failure... causing hundreds of thousands of people to become disabled or lose their ability to work every year. These cardiovascular events are currently the leading cause of death in Vietnam. According to statistical reports from the Vietnam Heart Association, 25% of the population nationwide is experiencing symptoms of hypertension and heart disease. Particularly, in recent years, hypertension tends to affect younger populations, with many patients being of working age.

High blood pressure is a common condition in older people, obese individuals, or those with certain conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, or due to genetic factors. Blood pressure rises when the force against the artery walls increases, and the pressure of the blood becomes too high, causing the heart to work harder to supply enough blood and pump it throughout the body. High blood pressure can lead to strokes. Another common sign in most hypertensive patients is feeling dizziness whenever changing positions, experiencing a spinning sensation around oneself or vice versa, feeling oneself spinning around objects. Furthermore, patients may also experience darkness around them for a brief period when transitioning from sitting or lying down to standing. 46.8% of hypertensive patients experience this symptom.

Some conditions arising from high blood pressure such as heart diseases, transient ischemic attacks (mini-strokes) can cause patients to feel dizzy. Additionally, patients suffering from strokes due to high blood pressure may also experience dizziness. Thus, the main connection between dizziness and blood pressure is the inability to control blood pressure leading to dizzy spells along with other symptoms. Only a few cases of dizziness are due to high or low blood pressure, while the majority are due to other causes. Typically, cases related to dizziness and blood pressure are few and are swiftly resolved.

Hypertension and chest pain often have a frequent and strong correlation. According to statistics, about 15% of hypertensive patients experience chest pain, and conversely, about 70% of chest pain patients have accompanying hypertension. Additionally, hypertension and chest pain are also indicative of some typical dangerous conditions such as coronary artery disease with high mortality rates. Hypertensive patients may also experience chest pain even if the coronary arteries are not narrowed. The cause is believed to be the dysfunction of microvessels (abnormalities in the structure or function of very small arteries). These abnormalities are observed when patients experience hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy due to severe and prolonged hypertension. Furthermore, some menopausal women with hypertension also exhibit symptoms of chest pain. The cause is attributed to the decrease in estrogen levels and its impact on microvascular function. When treating hypertensive patients with accompanying chest pain, it is essential to differentiate whether the chest pain symptoms are due to hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy or actual coronary artery narrowing caused by atherosclerosis. Only then can the most appropriate control and treatment methods be applied.

Symptoms of shortness of breath due to high blood pressure are usually mild, more frequent during strenuous activities, with severe cases leading to sudden shortness of breath at night, causing a sensation of obstruction during inhalation. This symptom differs from shortness of breath caused by lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, etc. In lung conditions, patients experience difficulty breathing both when inhaling and exhaling, accompanied by symptoms such as coughing up phlegm...

When blood pressure suddenly rises and presents symptoms such as: headache, chest pain, visual disturbances, dizziness, 'seeing spots,' shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue, it is called a hypertensive crisis. It can lead to dangerous complications such as stroke, acute pulmonary edema, heart failure, angina... which are life-threatening if not promptly treated. Therefore, timely treatment and especially preventive measures against hypertensive crises are necessary.

In reality, high blood pressure often doesn't present many specific symptoms. This is also the reason why many people are very complacent and only seek medical treatment when complications occur. However, studies also indicate that when you notice the following symptoms, you should promptly seek medical attention because you may have high blood pressure: headache, flushed or flushed face, chest tightness. Flushed face - a sign of high blood pressure: High blood pressure is one of the causes that make your facial skin feel hot and flushed.

The sign of flushed face, flushing in episodes, is also a common symptom in patients with high blood pressure. The main cause is the increased blood pressure causing blood vessels to dilate. This symptom is quite characteristic but is often overlooked. According to some studies by doctors and health experts, about 23.3% of patients with high blood pressure have symptoms of flushed face, but 95% of them have not paid attention to this symptom.

Symptoms of palpitations, chest thumping are common in 25.8% of patients with high blood pressure. However, it's not truly a characteristic symptom, so patients often overlook it. This symptom causes patients to feel anxious, jittery, with a strong heartbeat, and heaviness in the chest. Even normally healthy individuals in many cases will feel jittery, short of breath, and have a rapid heartbeat. These symptoms occur when we are in a state of stress, excitement, anxiety, exertion, or during sexual intercourse.

Palpitations, rapid heartbeat are normal physiological symptoms due to excessive heart activity causing a rapid heart rate and increased contraction. In addition, this symptom may occur when suffering from simple conditions such as fever, anemia... If palpitations, rapid heartbeat occur accompanied by frequent shortness of breath even when resting and mentally stable, it's necessary to consider cardiovascular diseases. Seeking medical attention as early as possible for accurate diagnosis and timely treatment is essential. So what is chest thumping disease? Symptoms of palpitations, rapid heartbeat can be diagnosed as signs of heart disease if accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, ankle swelling, chest pain...

Currently, high blood pressure is quite common in our country due to increased life expectancy, underlying risk of diabetes, and high salt intake habits. Accordingly, high blood pressure continuously affects the arterial walls, increasing the risk of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Hypertension progresses silently over many years, making it difficult for patients to detect symptoms as they are often vague, and in some hypertensive individuals, there are no warning signs at all. Therefore, high blood pressure silently damages blood vessels, especially those in the brain, heart, kidneys, with typical manifestations being hypertensive retinopathy.

In addition to complications affecting the heart, brain, and kidneys, high blood pressure also increases the risk of developing retinal diseases such as: central retinal artery or branch artery occlusion, central vein or branch vein occlusion, retinal artery aneurysm. Complications of hypertensive retinopathy may lead to other serious conditions in the retina such as crystalline retinopathy and retinal cotton wool spots. Particularly, in individuals with a history of diabetic retinopathy, high blood pressure can exacerbate the condition. Prolonged retinal edema may cause optic nerve atrophy, leading to visual impairment.

High blood pressure is the continuous increase in resting systolic blood pressure (≥ 130 mmHg) or diastolic blood pressure (≥ 80 mm Hg), or both. Essential hypertension without an obvious cause is the most common. Secondary hypertension due to an identifiable cause (secondary hypertension) is often caused by sleep apnea, chronic kidney disease, primary aldosteronism, diabetes, or obesity. Typically, the condition does not manifest clinical symptoms unless the blood pressure is very high or the disease has been prolonged.

Fatigue on one side in episodes is one of the symptoms that may occur in people with high blood pressure. The cause of this symptom is transient cerebral ischemia, caused by atherosclerotic plaques or a temporary blood clot blocking a small artery in the brain. This symptom will make the patient feel weakness on one side of the body compared to the other, possibly accompanied by abnormal sensations or decreased skin sensation on the weaker side.

The majority of high blood pressure cases in adults are of unknown cause, with only about 10% having identifiable causes. The cause of high blood pressure may be identified through history taking, clinical examination, and routine ancillary test results. Some cases of high blood pressure require careful consideration of causes and symptoms to determine appropriate treatment.

Bleeding is a dangerous symptom that can occur early or late in complications of individuals with high blood pressure. Bleeding includes nosebleeds, blood in urine, or more seriously, gastrointestinal bleeding, or cerebral hemorrhage, which can be life-threatening. Therefore, whenever you have signs of bleeding, prompt medical examination is necessary!