Many hypertensive patients have cognitive misconceptions about treatment due to insufficient understanding of the disease, leading to the impact of hypertension complications. The following are several common misconceptions about hypertension.

1、 Young people do not need to take antihypertensive drugs

Many young hypertensive patients feel that they are young and strong, and even without improving their lifestyle, it doesn't matter if they don't take medication every day to control themselves like the elderly. But in reality, taking antihypertensive drugs early and controlling them early is very important.

If you start taking blood pressure medication and improving your lifestyle in your thirties, as long as your blood pressure is well controlled and you don't need to take medication for a long time, you can still live a healthy life.

But if by the age of 40, hypertension has already caused arterial plaques or myocardial hypertrophy, it is necessary to persist in taking medication for a long time, otherwise cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases may occur.

2、 If there are no symptoms of hypertension, don't worry

Many cases of hypertension do not have any symptoms in the early stages, but this does not mean that management is not necessary, and timely treatment is very important.

High blood pressure is known as the 'silent killer', which can gradually damage various blood vessels, hearts, kidneys, and other parts of the human body without prior symptoms. Once various symptoms appear, control may have missed the critical time to control high blood pressure, leading to life-threatening symptoms such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and kidney failure.
3、 Antihypertensive drugs can be stopped at will

Some hypertensive patients feel that if their blood pressure is normal, they can stop taking antihypertensive drugs on their own, which is a wrong idea.

Blood pressure lowering drugs are not like anti infective drugs, which can be taken for 3 to 5 days. Hypertension is a cardiovascular syndrome and a chronic disease that needs to be evaluated after detection. Patients at high risk or above need lifelong management. Everyone uses different antihypertensive drugs. Some people have been evaluated by doctors and their blood pressure has stabilized, allowing them to discontinue medication intermittently. However, some patients, such as those with comorbidities such as myocardial infarction or stroke, need to take medication for life, and discontinuing medication can lead to complications.

4、 Health products can replace antihypertensive drugs

Some people find it troublesome to take blood pressure pills frequently. They listen to the wrong advice and stop taking blood pressure pills. Instead, they try health products, ointments, and blood pressure caps to lower blood pressure. These treatment methods lack evidence-based medical evidence and not only cannot be used as mainstream treatment methods, but may also lead to repeated fluctuations in blood pressure and further deterioration.

5、 Neglecting the effect of emotions on blood pressure

Sympathetic nerve stimulation is one of the mechanisms of hypertension. There is evidence that anxiety and tension can cause sympathetic nerve stimulation, leading to vasospasm and contraction, inducing hypertension and arteriosclerosis.

During the Afghan War, some American soldiers in their twenties developed hypertension at a young age. Anatomically observing the remains of soldiers after their death, it was found that there were numerous plaques in the arteries. This is mainly because of the mental tension caused by the pressure of war, which leads to atherosclerosis. Therefore, we suggest that everyone should pay attention to relaxation in life.

6、 Relying solely on medication to reduce blood pressure and neglecting the preventive effect of lifestyle on hypertension

For hypertensive patients, improving their lifestyle and treating them with antihypertensive drugs are both indispensable.

Hypertension is closely related to daily lifestyle, and unhealthy lifestyles such as high salt and oil intake, smoking, drinking alcohol, and less exercise can lead to or worsen hypertension. If patients neglect lifestyle management and want to rely solely on medication treatment, it may lead to difficulty in controlling hypertension or require the use of additional antihypertensive drugs in order to achieve blood pressure standards.