What harm does hypertension and fast heartbeat have to the heart？ Expert introduction

　　Hypertension is a common and frequently-occurring disease in the world, which will lead to target organ damage of multiple organs and seriously threaten human health. Therefore, on April 7th, 1978, the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Cardiology Societies decided to designate May 17th of each year as "World Hypertension Day", in order to arouse people’s attention to hypertension.

　　May 17th this year is the 10th World Hypertension Day. The theme of this year’s activities is "Healthy Blood Pressure and Healthy Heartbeat".

　　What is the relationship between blood pressure and heartbeat? Detailed introduction of experts-

　　Understand blood pressure and heartbeat

　　Blood pressure is the lateral pressure on the blood vessel wall when blood circulates in the blood vessel.The regulation of blood pressure is a complex process, which mainly depends on cardiac output and vascular resistance. When the heart contracts, the blood in the heart is discharged into the blood vessels, and when the heart relaxes, the blood in the blood vessels returns to the heart, and so on.

　　The heart completes a contraction and relaxation, which is a heartbeat.Cardiac output is related to blood volume, myocardial contractility and heartbeat times. If our vascular resistance increases and our blood pressure rises, the heart needs a stronger heartbeat and faster heartbeat times to ensure blood circulation throughout our body.

　　Blood pressure and heartbeat are inseparable.

　　When the patient has palpitation, intermittent heartbeat, or symptoms such as palpitation and intolerance to activities after activities; When the physical ECG shows rapid heartbeat, arrhythmia, premature beats, etc., the doctor will consider whether the patient has the possibility of elevated blood pressure.

　　Sometimes the patient’s heart rate is not fast, but he has a strong sense of palpitation. When there are symptoms such as increased myocardial contractility and too strong heartbeat, we should also consider whether there is hypertension. For example, some patients listen to their strong heartbeat when they sleep (they didn’t hear it before), or feel the blood vessels in their heads beating when they lie down.

　　Although the blood pressure of some patients who are flustered during exercise is not high, their blood pressure rises rapidly during exercise. At this time, attention should be paid to preventing exercise-induced hypertension. Exercise-induced hypertension often indicates the emergence of new hypertension.

　　Hypertension, rapid heartbeat

　　What are the hazards to the heart?

　　Hypertension can cause symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, strong heartbeat, arrhythmia and premature beats. In addition to discomfort, long-term rapid heartbeat may lead to decreased cardiac function and cardiac insufficiency. Excessive heartbeat is caused by excessive myocardial contraction. Long-term excessive myocardial contraction will lead to myocardial hypertrophy, which will lead to myocardial diastolic dysfunction and even develop into hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

　　When blood pressure rises, in order to ensure effective blood circulation throughout the body, the heart will increase the pressure in the heart cavity. The heart is divided into atria and ventricles, and the muscles of atria are relatively thin, so the pressure in atria increases more significantly, and arrhythmia such as atrial premature beats and atrial tachycardia may occur. If the blood pressure is not controlled for a long time, the atrium will bear high pressure for a long time, leading to atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation; Long-term atrial hypertension may also lead to atrial enlargement, increasing the risk of cardiac insufficiency and thromboembolism.

　　How to maintain healthy blood pressure

　　In order to keep healthy, adults should adopt a reasonable diet and good living habits, and monitor their blood pressure at least once or twice a year. If we are diagnosed with hypertension, we need to fully evaluate whether there are other cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factors related to hypertension, and whether there is target organ damage caused by hypertension. According to the individual situation, choose the antihypertensive drugs that suit you, control your blood pressure at an ideal level, and keep your heart rate at an ideal level. Let’s work together to keep healthy blood pressure and heartbeat.

　　Transfer from: Healthy Beijing