Risk of arterial hypertension
What is dangerous arterial hypertension and how to determine the risk of the disease?
Arterial hypertension is a disease that poses a real threat to the patient's health and even life. The danger of hypertension (arterial hypertension) lies in the possibility of developing dangerous or fatal complications of this disease. The risk of arterial hypertension is determined depending on certain factors affecting the development of the disease. Determining the risk of arterial hypertension is an important point in the diagnosis of this disease and helps to make a correct prognosis of the disease and prescribe adequate treatment.
Determination of the risk of arterial hypertension. Why is this important?
The risk of arterial hypertension means the possibility of severe or even fatal complications of this disease: brain stroke, myocardial infarction, etc. That is why the modern approach to the diagnosis and treatment of arterial hypertension necessarily includes determining the risk of this disease.
What does the risk of hypertension depend on?
The risk of arterial hypertension is determined depending on several main parameters/indicators that indicate the nature of the disease and the possibility of certain complications. Determination of the risk of arterial hypertension begins with the determination of these indicators:
Blood pressure (BP) numbers. We have already described the classification of arterial hypertension, depending on the level of arterial pressure, in the article "Arterial pressure in hypertension". It must be said that in determining the risk of arterial hypertension, blood pressure numbers are of the greatest importance. When calculating the risk of arterial hypertension, the highest registered blood pressure numbers are taken into account.
Risk factors (RF). The main risk factors for arterial hypertension are age, bad habits, blood cholesterol level, wrong lifestyle, various metabolic disorders, etc. (see Arterial hypertension. Risk factors)
Target organ damage (POM). Arterial hypertension is characterized by damage to some organs of the body. In medicine, these organs are called target organs.
Damage to the target organs in hypertension can be manifested by the following diseases:
- An increase in the size of the heart (hypertrophy of the left ventricle), which is detected by ultrasound and ECG;
- Damage to the kidneys is characterized by the destruction of active elements of the kidneys and the onset of renal failure;
- Vascular atherosclerosis – the formation of dense plaques on the walls of large blood vessels;
- Retinal vessel damage – narrowing of the lumen and destruction of retinal arterial vessels and vision impairment;
- Damage to the vessels of the brain - impaired blood circulation in the brain and an increase in the risk of stroke.
Concomitant clinical conditions (CCS) are various chronic diseases that significantly complicate the development of arterial hypertension and increase the risk of complications. When calculating the risk of arterial hypertension, such accompanying clinical conditions as:
- Disorders of cerebral circulation - ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, transient ischemic attack;
- Ischemic heart disease - angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, heart failure;
- Kidney diseases - kidney failure, kidney damage and instead diabetes;
- Vascular lesions – atherosclerosis of the aorta and other large vessels, aortic aneurysm;
Calculation of the risk of arterial hypertension
When calculating the risk of arterial hypertension, all the factors described above are taken into account. The risk is calculated using the table:
As can be seen from the table, there is a high risk of developing complications even with low blood pressure numbers, if there are other diseases that increase the risk of hypertension at the same time.
