Have you ever asked yourself that? In stressful everyday life, it’s easy to forget something, and taking medication is no exception. On average, only around half of all patients with high blood pressure take their medication as prescribed by their doctor.
This is a worrying problem that can have serious long-term consequences. That is why we are sharing valuable information with you today about high blood pressure and about why it is so important to follow your therapy.
“I’m really feeling under pressure today!”, it’s something we’ve all thought of at some point. But when do we actually start talking about “high blood pressure”?
High blood pressure, also known as arterial hypertension, is diagnosed when repeated measurements show a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher. High blood pressure usually goes unnoticed by those affected for a long time, with symptoms often only appearing months or years later, for example in the form of headaches or dizziness. This is what makes the disease so dangerous. Due to the lack of symptoms, the people affected often underestimate the importance of their treatment and the extent of possible consequences. However, if high blood pressure remains uncontrolled in the long term, it can lead to a stroke, heart attack or kidney disease.
In Germany, around one in three 18 to 79-year-olds suffers from high blood pressure. In the 70 to 79 age group, as many as three out of four people are affected. Genetic factors and individual lifestyle are the main causes. Examples of risk factors in everyday life include smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, stress, low physical activity and high salt consumption.
How Can High Blood Pressure Be Treated?
A core element of treatment is lifestyle change. Changing some habits, reducing alcohol consumption, giving up nicotine and exercising more can have a positive effect on high blood pressure. If lifestyle changes do not lead to a sufficient improvement in high blood pressure or if the blood pressure is already particularly high, medication is used to supplement the treatment.
Drug treatment for high blood pressure is relatively easy to integrate into everyday life. Initially, two to three classes of medication are usually prescribed in combination (ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker “sartan” plus calcium antagonist or diuretic). Drug treatment in combination with the introduction of healthy lifestyle habits is intended to reduce or prevent the damages caused by hypertension.
How Important Is It to Take Medication for High Blood Pressure?
Despite the serious consequences of high blood pressure, only around 50% of those affected take their medication as prescribed. However, even small changes in blood pressure have a strong impact on health: results from Oxford University showed that lowering the top (systolic) value by 5 mmHg reduced the risk of developing a serious cardiovascular disease by around 10%. The risk of a stroke was even reduced by 13%.
A common cause of late or missed medication intake is forgetfulness. Who hasn’t been there? You’re out and about all day, your head is full of tasks and in the evening you suddenly remember everything you’ve forgotten! To give you a helping hand in your everyday life and relieve you of one thing from your to-do list, we created mediteo. Our app helps you to remember to take your medication regularly! By the way: mediteo also reminds you to take your blood pressure!
Sources
- Adherence to drugs that prevent cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis on 376,162 patients – PubMed (nih.gov)
- World Health Organization. Adherence to Long-Term Therapies Evidence for Action. World Health Organization, 2003
- Epidemiologisches Bulletin Ausgabe 5/2015 (rki.de)
- Checkliste Innere Medizin. Hahn J, Hrsg. 9., vollständig überarbeitete Auflage. Stuttgart: Thieme; 2023. doi:10.1055/b000000631
- Many more people could benefit from blood… | Oxford Martin School
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