Which is more dangerous, low blood pressure or high blood pressure?

Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
Updated on September 01, 2024
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Blood pressure is a crucial indicator for maintaining human life. Both low blood pressure and high blood pressure can pose significant risks to the body. High blood pressure can lead to arteriosclerosis, and prolonged high blood pressure can cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, with severe cases leading to cerebral ischemia and myocardial infarction. Low blood pressure affects the blood supply to vital organs and also brings negative factors to the body. Extremely low blood pressure can also endanger human life. Therefore, whether it is low blood pressure or high blood pressure, it should be correctly treated and improved under the guidance of a doctor to ensure the health of the body.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
42sec home-news-image

How should one take medicine for high blood pressure?

Patients with hypertension must use effective medications to keep their blood pressure within the normal range to prevent damage to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems. During medication use, patients should not arbitrarily stop taking their medication or switch to different types. It is necessary to regularly monitor blood pressure and adjust the medication dosage or switch types under the guidance of a doctor as blood pressure fluctuates. Randomly stopping medication and discontinuing antihypertensive drugs can cause blood pressure fluctuations and pose greater risks to the body, especially causing ischemia in the heart and brain.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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How to Read a Blood Pressure Monitor for High Blood Pressure

As living standards improve, a blood pressure monitor has become an essential medical device in households. Electronic blood pressure monitors are very convenient for measuring blood pressure, especially for patients with hypertension. They allow patients to measure their blood pressure timely and adjust medication dosages accordingly. How to read a blood pressure monitor varies with different models. Typically, on an electronic blood pressure monitor, the first line displays the systolic pressure, also known as high blood pressure; the second line displays the diastolic pressure, also known as low blood pressure; and the third line displays the heart rate. These readings can help you know your systolic and diastolic pressures.

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Written by Zhang Lu
Obstetrics
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Symptoms of Hypertension in Pregnant Women

During pregnancy, if a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure, initially there are no symptoms, because at the beginning the blood pressure just slightly exceeds 140/90mmHg. If the high blood pressure is only temporary, it generally does not affect the woman's body and therefore, she may not experience any symptoms. As the condition progresses, the symptoms of high blood pressure can cause physical harm to the woman, likely damaging the kidneys and causing proteinuria. The loss of protein can lead to edema in women, and as a result, many women's initial symptoms will appear as generalized swelling, which does not improve with rest. By measuring blood pressure and urinary protein, symptoms of hypertension in pregnant women can be detected. In the later stages of the disease, hypertension may sometimes be accompanied by dizziness, indigestion, and mild pain in the lower abdomen, which are all symptoms of hypertension in pregnant women.

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Written by Tang Li
Cardiology
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Hypertensive crisis blood pressure values

At any stage of hypertension development and other disease emergencies, severe life-threatening blood pressure increases can occur, requiring emergency treatment. Hypertensive crises include hypertensive emergencies and hypertensive urgencies. Hypertensive emergencies refer to severe blood pressure increases within a short time—hours or days—with diastolic pressure greater than 130 mmHg and/or systolic pressure greater than 180 mmHg, accompanied by severe dysfunction or irreversible damage to critical organs and tissues such as the heart, brain, kidneys, retina, and major arteries. Hypertensive urgencies may present as increased blood pressure but without obvious target organ damage.

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Written by Pan Wu Shan
Nephrology
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What is the difference between hypertensive nephropathy and renal hypertension?

There are fundamental differences between hypertensive nephropathy and nephrogenic hypertension. Firstly, hypertensive nephropathy occurs due to long-term high blood pressure, leading to complications in the kidneys. Generally, the history of hypertension exceeds ten years, and routine urine tests reveal a relatively small amount of protein in the urine. The main damage lies in the renal tubules, whose reabsorption and concentration functions are impaired. The primary treatment is to control the blood pressure well, possibly in conjunction with medication to protect the kidneys. On the other hand, nephrogenic hypertension originates from nephritis causing high blood pressure and is a form of secondary hypertension. In this condition, controlling blood pressure is particularly challenging. Usually, a significant amount of antihypertensive medication is required. Dietary considerations include a low salt and low fat diet, with daily salt intake limited to about three grams, maintaining regular schedules, and avoiding catching colds.