From this article you will learn: what should be emergency care for hypertensive crisis, how to properly provide it.
The content of the article:
- Algorithm for first-aid first aid
- Typical mistakes in emergency care
- Forecast
The hypertensive crisis is a sudden and sudden increase in blood pressure accompanied by a certain set of symptoms and patient complaints. When a crisis is difficult to identify specific problematic values of blood pressure, because it is necessary to repel the working pressure of a particular patient. For a person who has a normal or even slightly reduced blood pressure in a normal rhythm of life, a hypertensive crisis may be a mark of a tonometer above 130/90 mm Hg. Art. For hypertension "with experience" with working pressure of 150/100 mm Hg. Art.the pressure will be about 200/120 mm Hg. Art.and higher. A hypertonic crisis can arise both against the backdrop of a long-term hypertension and to catch a perfectly healthy person for the first time.
That's why if you suspect a hypertensive crisis it is important to rely not on specific indicators of the tonometer, but on the patient's complaints:
- red face, sweating, a feeling of heat;
- headache, dizziness;
- nausea and vomiting, not bringing relief;
- flickering flies before the eyes, darkening in the eyes and other visual impairments;
- lack of air, shortness of breath;
- pain compressive character in the heart, behind the sternum;
- tachycardia - heart palpitations over 90-100 beats per minute;
- confusion, loss of orientation in space, speech disorders;
- excitement, panic, fear of death.
First aid for hypertensive crisis is an extremely necessary aspect in preserving the life and health of the patient. It is very important that every person knows the principles of the first first aid to a patient with hypertensive crisis, because even the simplest actions help to win precious minutes before the arrival of physicians.
Usually, the main first medical help in such a state is provided by doctors and paramedics of the ambulance ambulance team, as well as therapists from the polyclinics and ambulance stations. Then the patient is hospitalized in specialized therapeutic or cardiological departments, where he will be assisted by narrow specialists - cardiologists.
The most important principle of first aid for hypertensive crisis: "Do no harm!".It is better to perform a minimum of actions than to overdo it with "help."A little later we will analyze the typical mistakes in the provision of first aid.
It is important to understand that the hypertensive crisis is not dangerous in itself, but the hardest complications that it can cause: myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary edema, convulsions and other pathologies.
First aid and further specialized treatment of this serious condition should be aimed specifically at preventing such complications.
What you need to do if you suspect a hypertensive crisis
In the hypertensive crisis of emergency care, the algorithm looks like this:
- The first thing to do is to call an ambulance or to begin careful transportation of the patient to the nearest medical institution.
- Try to find a tonometer, measure blood pressure and count the pulse of the victim.
- It is very important to calm the patient, to create for him a calm, quiet environment, to instill in him the belief in a successful outcome.
- It is necessary to ask the patient about whether he suffers from hypertension, what medications he takes, whether he took his medications today or forgot whether he drank alcohol. All this information should then be given to the doctors in detail.
- The patient needs to be placed in a semi-sitting position with his legs down, which reduces the return of venous blood from the vessels of the lower limbs, which significantly reduces the burden on the heart. In the same position, you need to transport the patient to a medical facility.
- If possible, the victim should be taken to fresh air, open windows and doors, unfasten the collar to ensure fresh air and facilitate breathing.
- With rapid heart rate - tachycardia, when the pulse is more than 90 beats per minute, and the patient complains that "the heart jumps out of the chest" - such an effective method as carotid sinus massage is effective. To do this, you need to rub or massage a person's side surfaces of the neck in the region of carotid artery pulsation from both sides. The duration of the massage is 10-15 minutes.
- If the victim has his medicine against hypertension with him, it is necessary to give him one additional dose of the drug. The most effective and fast will be the effect of resorption tablets or placing it under the tongue.
- The second necessary preparation will be any sedative medication - valerian, motherwort, combined sedatives, Corvalolum and so on.
- The third and last drug, approved for admission without a doctor, is nitroglycerin. This medicine is recognized by the World Health Organization or WHO, the best way to prevent myocardial infarction and first aid at the prehospital stage in attacks of arterial hypertension, angina and pain in the heart. This medicine should be in any car medicine chest, as well as in first-aid kits of public institutions: petrol stations, shopping centers, shops and so on. Nitroglycerin exists in the form of tablets, capsules and sprays. The standard single dose of nitroglycerin is 0.5 mg. It is her that must be taken under the tongue or cheek. It is also necessary to remember the time of taking nitroglycerin and inform it of the arriving medical workers.
Arriving physicians will assess the situation, measure pressure and pulse, remove the cardiogram and begin intravenous administration of drugs that lower blood pressure. Then the victim will be taken to the nearest department of cardiology or intensive care, where he will receive specialized care, as well as a detailed diagnosis of possible complications of hypertensive crisis.
Typical mistakes in pre-hospital care
We will analyze the most common and gross errors of first aid for hypertensive crisis:
- Refusal to carry out urgent activities of the patient himself or others. The first necessary help in hypertensive crisis is quite simple and does not require special knowledge and skills.
- Panic surrounding. Excitement, unnecessary fuss and nervousness of others can significantly increase the patient's anxiety and aggravate the course of the crisis.
- Receiving injured "foreign" drugs from hypertension. Offer a patient a cure for hypertension, prescribed to another patient, is absolutely unacceptable. This can lead to very serious consequences. For example, taking certain groups of drugs with abnormalities of the renal arteries can lead to severe kidney failure and aggravation of the hypertensive crisis.
- Drinking alcohol to "expand the vessels."This effect of alcohol is very short-lived, and the effect of ethyl alcohol on the work of the heart will only exacerbate the picture of the crisis. Moreover, alcohol in combination with nitroglycerin and anti-pressure drugs can give unpredictable results. Alcoholic intoxication significantly erases the clinical picture of the hypertensive crisis and prevents diagnosis.
- Receiving double or triple doses of drugs "for reliability".It is completely unacceptable to unauthorized increase in the doses of drugs. If it is planned to give the victim his standard medicine against the pressure - this should be one standard dose. The dosage of nitroglycerin should not exceed 1 mg!
- Pressure drop too fast. In all world recommendations of cardiologists, it is indicated that the level of blood pressure reduction in the treatment of hypertensive crisis should not be more than 20-25% of the initial pressure in two to three hours.
- Hiding from medical professionals the causes of the onset of a crisis - for example, drinking alcohol or certain drugs. It is also a gross mistake not to inform doctors about taking drugs from pressure and nitroglycerin.
Prognosis for hypertensive crisis
Prognosis of the disease depends on:
- Age of the patient. The younger and healthier the patient, the easier it will be to bear this difficult condition.
- Type of crisis and damage to target organs. A complicated crisis with damage to the brain, kidneys or myocardial infarction is an absolutely unfavorable condition leading to severe disability and even death.
- Adequacy of first-aid treatment in hypertensive crisis and subsequent treatment. The earlier treatment is started and the prevention of complications, the greater the patient's chances of a successful outcome.
- States that worsen the prognosis and increase mortality: obesity, diabetes, propensity to thrombosis, chronic heart and kidney disease, alcoholism, tobacco smoking.
About 60% of cases of hypertensive crises are a consequence of prolonged and uncontrolled course of arterial hypertension, therefore, effective and systematic treatment of hypertension is important. Medicines for high blood pressure should be selected very carefully, and taken daily.
