From this article you will learn how to lower the pressure at home: what you need and what you can not do at high pressure. What non-pharmacological agents can be used, and what medications should be in the medicine cabinet for each hypertensive patient for emergency care.
Contents of the article:
- What to do at home with high blood pressure
- How to quickly reduce the pressure of the house
- Composition of the home medicine chest for hypertension
- What can not be done with high pressure
- Conclusion
High blood pressure is a symptom that can not be ignored in any case. It is against the background of the rise in blood pressure that the most severe complications of hypertension develop - heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary edema. In addition, even a slight increase in pressure is accompanied by such subjectively unpleasant symptoms as headache, nausea, weakness, fatigue and decreased efficiency. And if help is not provided on time, the pressure rises even more - right up to the hypertensive crisis.
The hypertensive crisis is an acute condition in which the arterial blood pressure is sharply increased, and the systolic( or in another way the upper) is 200 mm Hg. Art.and higher. In the case of a crisis, it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance and, before the arrival of physicians, begin to carry out measures to reduce blood pressure.
In those situations where the pressure is increased moderately, you can and should help yourself. Hypertension( people suffering from hypertension) should know how to reduce pressure, be able to use drugs for emergency care. And, of course, if you suffer from hypertension, you should periodically undergo examinations, examinations and adjust the treatment of a therapist or cardiologist.
What to do at home with high blood pressure
If you notice symptoms of hypertension( headache, nausea, general deterioration of well-being), the first thing to do is to measure the pressure and find out whether it is actually increased. Similar symptoms can occur in other conditions( hypotension, onset of acute respiratory infections, etc.), so even hypertensive patients who are well aware of the changes in their state during crises should be guided not only by subjective signs, but also by the data of the tonometer.
In case the AD is really increased, the following actions should be performed:
- Provide yourself with peace. It does not matter whether you are at work or at home. When hypertensive crisis needs rest - without it your condition will not improve for a long time. It is best to lie down on the couch or couch, placing a pillow under your head or lifting the head end. If you work, you can just sit. To effectively reduce the pressure, you should rest in silence, in a well-ventilated, preferably darkened room. Fresh air, lack of bright light and loud sounds make it possible to quickly remove a headache even without using drugs.
- Do respiratory gymnastics - calmly, breathe deeply with your nose, placing emphasis on exhalation( with an exhalation extension) and making sure that in the act of breathing the predominantly anterior abdominal wall( "belly breathing") participates - such breathing allows to remove excessive tension, calm heartbeatand lower the pressure.
- Well reduces blood pressure, eliminates headache and nervous tension head and neck massage( neck, shoulders and upper third of the back).Since the patient himself is difficult to perform self-massage because of poor health, it is better if someone from relatives or friends conduct it. It is easy enough kneading of the shoulders and an elementary massage of the scalp. If there is no one near you, do self-massage: in a circular motion with a gentle pressure, massage the whiskey, then the area of the superciliary arches, and then rub the skin of the scalp with the fingertips. You can also make light stretches for strands of hair, alternating them with grinding of the skin.
- Decrease in pressure is helped by taking diuretics( decoction of cowberry, parsley, rose hips, kidney tea, weak green tea).
It should be noted that the above measures reduce blood pressure smoothly and slowly. Restrict only to them, without seeking medical help and without applying medication, it is possible in those cases when the arterial pressure is raised moderately, and there is no hypertensive crisis. When these measures do not help or if there is a crisis, you should always consult a doctor or call an ambulance.
How can I quickly reduce blood pressure at home
There are situations when there is no possibility of a good rest - you need to go to work, and there is no time to wait for a gradual, within a few hours, reducing the pressure. Working and physically active patients are often interested in how to reduce pressure at home in a short time without contacting a doctor.
Drugs help the fastest. No folk remedies and other non-medicamentous measures prevent a significant reduction in blood pressure, especially in a short time. However, use drugs with caution to avoid overdose and too rapid, rapid drop in pressure or other complications.
Examples of means for lowering blood pressure Hypertensives need to know that to lower the pressure you need to smoothly - for the first half hour( hour) it should become only 1/3 below the original( not lower!). For example, if you now have a pressure of 200/110 mm Hg., then the optimal decrease within an hour is considered to be between 140-160 / 90 mm Hg. Art. And then during the day the pressure is gradually "adjusted" to normal. Too rapid decrease to normal numbers is fraught with the development of complications( in particular, stroke).
Soft and quickly enough to lower the pressure, the following non-medicamentous measures help:
- Rest - at least for half an hour, in combination with deep breathing and head massage - we already mentioned about them.
- Cool forehead compress - reduces headache.
- Warm( tolerably hot) foot and hand baths - they relieve the spasm of peripheral vessels, thereby contributing to a decrease in blood pressure and improve blood circulation. You can not make very hot baths, because they can cause a heartbeat, or cold, which increase vascular spasm. Instead of the tray to the feet and calf muscles, you can attach a hot-water bottle or a bottle of hot water, put mustard plasters on calves.
- Soothing herbal tea( you can brew motherwort, valerian root, mint, chamomile, lemon balm) - relieves anxiety, especially helps with hypertension in the face of stress.
In the absence of effect from non-pharmacological measures, they should be supplemented with medicines.
Composition of the first-aid kit for hypertension
Rapidly lowering the pressure at home will help drugs. But when taking medication, you should always follow certain rules:
- Use only those medications your doctor has authorized.
- Avoid "cocktails" of several drugs - if you are not sure that these medications can be combined with each other - better take 1 tablet. Some drugs do not combine with each other, or they can reduce pressure too quickly and dramatically.
- Tablets act faster if they dissolve them under the tongue, rather than swallow. Most of the drugs "emergency" give just under the tongue, and the reception inside is prescribed for routine therapy.
- Take medicine lying down. And for a minimum of half an hour after taking, you should not get up, walk and work. If you need to get out of bed, do it gradually - first sit down, sit a little and only then gently stand up. Reducing pressure with medication is often accompanied by dizziness, and if abruptly up, dizziness may increase, and pressure will drop, which can lead to fainting.
- When taking medicines, take into account existing contraindications and possible side effects.
Here are some drugs that you should have in your home medicine chest every hypertensive:
- Corvalol - helps to calm down, relieve nervous tension and stop heartbeat. Pour 25-50 drops of Corvalol into ¼ cup of water( permissible to drink immediately 1 tsp of the drug) and take it inside.
- Nifedipine( Corinfar) - a dosage of 10 mg - is taken under the tongue. Quickly, within 10-30 minutes lowers blood pressure. However, it is not suitable for a crisis accompanied by severe tachycardia( palpitation).
- Anaprilin( obzidan) - a dosage of 40 mg - is also taken under the tongue. In addition to reducing the blood pressure, it also decreases the heart rate, so it is indicated for patients with tachycardia.
- Nitroglycerin - to reduce isolated hypertension( when there is only a rise in pressure) are used with limited, very high pressures or when hypertension is combined with ischemic heart disease. However, it should always be kept in the home medicine cabinet, as the risk of complications from the heart is high on the background of arterial hypertension. And if the hypertensive crisis occurs in you with burning or pain behind the sternum, it is necessary to call an ambulance, and before the arrival of physicians take one tablet of nitroglycerin under the tongue( strictly in the prone position!).
In the absence of drugs for emergency care, you can take inside one of the drugs for the planned( permanent) reception - any of those that you have at home - egilok, hood, enap or others. However, you will not get the effect from them until after 1-2 hours.
What can not be done with high pressure
With high blood pressure, there are a number of limitations and recommendations that must be adhered to to avoid the development of adverse effects:
- At the time of pressure increase, and for a minimum of 24 hours after its normalization, doctors categorically prohibit any physically hard work. Physical activity and hypertensive crisis - a dangerous combination, fraught with the most serious complications.
- If possible, it is advisable to protect yourself from stress and suffering, which exacerbate hypertension and not allow you to reduce pressure. In cases where stress can not be eliminated, and it is the cause of the crisis, be sure to take sedatives.
- Against the backdrop of high blood pressure, alcohol can not be taken - some patients unreasonably believe that strong and quality alcoholic drinks( cognac, etc.) lower the pressure. However, this is not true - cognac is able to relieve nervous tension, reduce the manifestations of vascular spasm - but these effects are very weak and only if small doses of cognac are used against a background of normal well-being. And with a hypertensive crisis, alcohol leads to violations of vascular regulation, causes a change in the heart rate, increases headache and nausea, and also unpredictably affects the effects of medications.
- With a hypertensive crisis, you can not smoke, as nicotine increases vasospasm and causes an even higher pressure rise. Also beverages are high in caffeine( coffee, strong black and green tea).
- Do not eat fatty or heavy foods. You can not drink a lot of liquid, on the contrary, for 1-2 days it is advisable to slightly restrict the intake of liquid. It is forbidden to eat very salty foods( including canned food and smoked meat), and the amount of salt in the diet of hypertensive patients should generally be limited.
Conclusion
Many hypertensive patients "with experience" know how to lower the pressure at home. They get used to self-treatment, avoiding the call of a doctor at a crisis, and in the future, less and less often visit polyclinics. Remember that you can not be too confident in your own abilities, and if you see that you can not cope with the crisis, and after the events your condition has not improved or even worsened - urgently call an ambulance.
In the same cases, when pressure rises trouble you more than once a month, you need to undergo a checkup from a therapist and a cardiologist to pick up a new treatment regimen. Adequate planned medicamental therapy allows maintaining blood pressure at the optimal level, preventing the development of crises and complications.
