Hypertension And Nosebleed: What You Should Do

Nosebleed is one of those nasty experiences that a hypertension patient could have occasionally. This could either be mild or severe depending on the contributory factors. It must be understood that this condition could start spontaneously without any injury in the patient.

Sometimes nosebleed is a product of long neglect of the medical treatment needed to put hypertension under control. It is due to a rupture of one or more capillary blood vessels in the nose following the elevated blood pressure within the vessel. We once had a patient with the severe type of bleeding which lasted for about 4 hours. The reason he actually suffered this serious problem was because he assumed his condition was already stabilized and he didn’t need to continue on his drugs any more. Unfortunately, the nosebleed came without a warning 6 months after he stopped taking his drugs. All efforts to stop the haemorrhage proved abortive until an indwelling catheter was inserted into his nostril and inflated. He was lucky he had that as the last resort otherwise he would have perhaps died from the uncontrollable bleeding.

It is therefore advisable not to suddenly stop your drug or adjust the dosage without your doctor’s supervision. However, if you notice that someone close to you starts to bleed from the nose as a result of his/her hypertension, here are some things you could do to help:
1.Sit the patient up in order to prevent discomfort as a result of standing. This also lessens fatigue or the possibility of fainting.
2.Patient should tilt his head slightly forward to prevent ingesting the blood (can cause vomiting) or inhaling the blood (which can cause choking).
3.Have patient pinch the soft part of the nose firmly between the thumb and forefinger (index finger).
4.He should be instructed not to blow the nose as this may dislodge blood clot that would help arrest the bleeding.
5.He should also be instructed to breathe through the mouth
6.Apply cold compress to the bridge of the nose, lips and back of the neck
7.Reassure the patient that bleeding would soon stop.
8.Protect his clothing from being soiled with blood.
9.Keep the patient as calm as possible
10.Keep on-lookers away to enable patient get adequate ventilation
11.If bleeding is severe call the doctor or arrange to take patient to the hospital.

Hypertension and Sex: Things You Need To Know

Are you hypertensive and recently started to notice that you can no longer achieve or maintain erection as you use to? You need to know that there are reasons why you are having such problems; the first being that your condition has brought some structural changes to your system including your sexual organs.
For you to be able to acquire and maintain a strong and perfect erection there ought to be adequate blood flow to your sexual organs through the arteries supplying those organs. Unfortunately with hypertension blood flow to the penile vessels is considerably reduced and as such the pressure needed to produce erection is poor. Don’t forget that hypertension either on its own brings about organic dysfunction of some of your body organs or it is in itself a product of other disease conditions like diabetes mellitus which has arteriosclerosis as one of its major complications. When hypertension accompanies diabetes, it is almost certain that erectile dysfunction would soon follow.
The second reason you are unable to enjoy sex anymore is as a result of some of the drugs employed in the treatment of your condition. Some of those drugs produce that nasty effect as a side effect. What this means therefore is that you may be having a double assault (one from the disease and the other from your drugs) on your system. When you discover there is a problem like that you may become anxious and desperate to get out of the tight corner you are held. In an attempt to get out of the problem you may actually compound it if you do not employ the right solutions. Sexual dysfunction is such a sensitive issue that must be handled with care; so you must consult a real professional lest you destroy your sex life completely or even worsen the hypertension by the kind of therapy you adopt.
You must never attempt to remedy this problem on your own by self-medicating because some of the performance enhancing drugs have the ability to elevate your blood pressure further. Most of the drugs used to increase erection actually contain androgen or testosterone which can elevate blood pressure. You need to seek the advice and prescription of a medical doctor who should recommend for you the kind of therapy to apply. Don’t use aphrodisiacs that you do not know their contents; you may not even need them. It is possible that what would take care of your problem could be just physical exercise and dietary modification. So watch out for any slightest change in your sex life and see the doctor immediately.

Hypertension and Your Kidneys: any Relationship?

The relationship between hypertension and kidney disease is such that it is difficult to determine which of them precedes the other. It is a known fact that hypertension can cause kidney problems, especially the chronic types such as chronic pyelonephritis, nephrosclerosis, etc and it is also known that kidney diseases such as acute or chronic glomerulonephritis can cause hypertension.
When there is a renal (kidney) problem e.g. glomerulonephritis which is primarily caused by streptococcal or other infections, there is an inflammation of the glomeruli of the kidneys. This inflammatory process brings about reduced blood supply to the renal vessels as a result of the swelling that accompanies the inflammation. Reduced blood supply ensures that Renin (an enzyme) is released into the blood stream. The released rennin now leads to the breakdown of Angiotensinogen (plasma protein) into angiotensin I. Angiotensin I is further acted upon by Angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) which is found in the lungs, converting it into angiotensin II. This angiotensin II leads to the secretion of Aldosterone (which stimulates salt and water re-absorption by the kidneys), and constriction of arterioles thereby leading to an elevation in both systolic and diastolic blood pressures.
The elevated blood pressure on the other hand brings about renal ischaemia (reduced blood supply to the kidneys), thereby leading to a further release of renin into the blood stream. The release of rennin leads to a further rise in the blood pressure by ensuring that more angiotensinogen is converted into angiotensin I to continue the cycle. But the use of drugs known as ACE inhibitors can help to disrupt this process or minimize the rate at which angiotensin I is converted to angiotensin II thereby bringing the hypertension under control.
However, high blood pressure reduces blood supply to the kidneys (a condition referred to as renal ischaemia); and if the kidneys remain deprived of blood and oxygen supply for a long period of time physiological changes and complications begin to occur in them and they become susceptible to infections: there could be recurrent renal infections. This is where pyelonephritis and nephrosclerosis come in. With nephosclerosis there is further constriction of the arterioles of the kidneys and as such more release of rennin, and by extension another increase in blood pressure. Recurrent renal infection could lead to chronic pyelonephritis and eventually to kidney failure if not managed on time. Therefore, renal problems should be promptly managed to prevent hypertension, and hypertension should as well be controlled to reduce the possibility of renal disease.