High Blood Pressure: Masked hypertension is particularly treacherous
It is common knowledge that a high blood pressure significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is always advised to to lower blood pressure. But many people are not even aware that their blood pressure values are too high. Some of them have a so-called masked hypertension. This is considered particularly dangerous.
The common disease high blood pressure (arterial hypertension) is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure initially causes hardly any symptoms, no pain, and even looking at the readings does not always reliably indicate high blood pressure. Because in addition to the obviously manifest hypertension, so-called masked hypertension can also be present, reports the German Hypertension League in a current issue Message.
Over a quarter of the German population has high blood pressure
About 20 to 30 million people in Germany have high blood pressure. Around 30 percent of those affected do not know anything regarding their illness, writes the high-pressure league on their website.
Many people are also not sufficiently aware that high blood pressure is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular and vascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke, loss of kidney function and dementia.
One of the most important factors to counteract the development of such sequelae is in addition to general preventive measures early detection and timely treatment of high blood pressure.
But that’s not always easy: At approx 15 percent of all people with completely unremarkable blood pressure values measured in the practice have what is known as masked hypertension.
“It is a particularly insidious form of high blood pressure, which often eludes diagnosis and thus treatment and is therefore very dangerous is”, explains Prof. Dr. medical Ulrich Wenzel, Chairman of the Board of the German Hypertension League.
Men are affected more frequently than women
In masked hypertension, blood pressure values are Routine-Check always normal (120-129/80-84 mmHg) or highly normal (130-139/85-89 mmHg) in the doctor’s office and therefore supposedly “okay”. In everyday life and especially at night, however, they increase alarmingly.
The reasons for this are not yet entirely clear. It mostly affects people with a high professional or private stress level, often also at a younger age.Hypertension Research“ published study known.
And one in the journal “European Heart JournalPublished work shows that men are more frequently affected than women.
Affected people think they are in a false sense of security
The great danger is that those affected will find themselves in a false security imagine, and the high blood pressure goes untreated for too long. These people therefore have a higher cardiovascular risk than patients with “visible” hypertension.
According to the experts, in people with masked hypertension, both the event rate of heart attacks or strokes and the risk of diabetes mellitus and kidney diseases higher than in patients with well-adjusted blood pressure values.
As the Hypertension League writes, regular self-measurement at home is a very good method of checking blood pressure in the event of irregularities to be able to react and thus stay healthy in the long term.
If carried out correctly, this measurement provides more reliable values than in the doctor’s office. If at the blood pressure self-measurement If a value of 135/85 mmHg and higher is measured several times at home, the family doctor should be consulted.
In such cases, a 24-hour blood pressure measurement, which can be used to assess very well whether hypertension is present. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, appropriate antihypertensive therapy can be initiated to prevent consequential damage.
In order to create more awareness of masked hypertension and to sensitize the population to this clinical picture, the German Hypertension League has one brochure published on this disease.
The brochure “Basic knowledge of high blood pressure – masked hypertension” can be obtained from interested parties or from practices and clinics at the Hypertension League free of charge obtained or downloaded from the High Pressure League website. (ad)
Author and source information
This text corresponds to the requirements of medical specialist literature, medical guidelines and current studies and has been checked by medical professionals.
Sources:
- German Hypertension League: High blood pressure is not a trivial disease // Particularly insidious: masked hypertension // New brochure provides information, (accessed: September 14, 2022), German Hypertension League
- German Hypertension League: high blood pressure in numbers, (accessed: September 14, 2022), German Hypertension League
- Masanori Munakata: Clinical significance of stress-related increase in blood pressure: current evidence in office and out-of-office settings; in: Hypertension Research, (veröffentlicht: 29.05.2018), Hypertension Research
- José R. Banegas, Luis M. Ruilope, Alejandro de la Sierra, Juan J. de la Cruz, Manuel Gorostidi, Julián Segura, Nieves Martell, Juan García-Puig, John Deanfield, Bryan Williams: High prevalence of masked uncontrolled hypertension in people with treated hypertension; in: European Heart Journal, (veröffentlicht: 04.02.2014), European Heart Journal
Important NOTE:
This article contains general advice only and should not be used for self-diagnosis or treatment. He can not substitute a visit at the doctor.