Atypical sign
Scientists analyzed the health of 20,000 people between the ages of 40 and 75. It turned out that one in eight suffered from hypertension, which the patient was not even aware of, even though he regularly went to a general practitioner.
As you know, if you do not treat hypertension and do not maintain the pressure level with medications prescribed by a doctor, there is a risk of developing dangerous diseases: stroke, heart attack, heart failure, dementia.
– The level of pressure during the day changes cyclically – it normally decreases at night, and after waking up it increases, – explained the author of the study, Professor Lionel Tarasenko. – But there is inverted bucket effect: it is typical for the elderly, heart patients, patients with diabetes and kidney disease. Their blood pressure rises at night and then drops when they wake up. That is, people during the day, pressure can be normal and, unfortunately, they will remain completely confident that they are healthy, even with regular visits to the doctor and measuring the indicators at home.
The study showed that one in eight participants had normal blood pressure during the day but “went off the scale” at night – and one in three patients with an “overturned bucket” were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.
“Measuring blood pressure at night can detect a patient with undiagnosed hypertension,” the Oxford scientists conclude. “It will reduce mortality and the rate of cardiovascular disease. It is important that doctors recommend 24/7 blood pressure monitoring to people at risk.
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