Can hypertension be cured?

As we mentioned earlier, hypertension is very high in our country, and according to the 2012 data [1] , there is at least one hypertension patient in every four adults. I often meet patients with hypertension in the outpatient clinic, many have asked me “can high blood pressure cure? ” This issue to talk about this topic. In fact, if you want to know whether hypertension can be cured, you should first look for the causes of hypertension. Unfortunately, the cause of more than 90% of hypertension is unknown and is medically known as “essential hypertension” ; the remaining less than 10% is due to hypertension caused by other diseases, known as “Secondary hypertension” . In our current issue, we’re talking about “essential hypertension, ” and from that perspective, how can we talk about a cure when the cause isn’t clear? So let’s be clear, essential hypertension is a chronic disease that can’t be cured! Some patients say, the doctor gave me a diagnosis of “hypertension” , but I have no symptoms, why take blood pressure medication? My advice is that people diagnosed with high blood pressure should take blood pressure medication even if they have no symptoms! Hypertension is a chronic disease. In most patients, blood pressure rises little by little, not much at once. The body has “adapted” to higher blood pressure levels in the time it takes for blood pressure to rise, most people with high blood pressure have no obvious symptoms. However, the body’s ability to adapt is limited, once the blood pressure is too high or other factors lead to a decline in the body’s ability to withstand, it may lead to Hypertensive crisis, stroke and other serious complications, even life-threatening! High Blood pressure on the human body, a bit like “Boiling frog” , although adapt to the gradual “quantitative change” , but also to prevent the occurrence of “qualitative change” . Still some patients ask, “I took a period of time blood pressure medicine, blood pressure control is stable, this is not cured? Why continue to take medicine? ” Here, we once again emphasize that hypertension can not be cured, but only through the improvement of lifestyle, drug treatment and other comprehensive measures to control, “adhere to medication is the road of longevity of patients with hypertension”[2] . We treat hypertension with the aim of keeping blood pressure in the normal range, thereby reducing the incidence of complications such as stroke, acute myocardial infarction and kidney disease, as well as the risk of death. If hypertension patients stop medication, blood pressure will rise again, blood pressure fluctuations are likely to speed up, or even lead to cardiovascular events. In addition, there are patients asked, “there are advertisements that hypertension can be cured, there is such a panacea? ” We would like to solemnly clarify: no matter where, what kind of media publicity, can cure hypertension “panacea” , are false publicity! Not only there is no such “magic bullet” , the so-called health care products can not achieve the goal of treatment. Hypertension patients must be clear-eyed to identify the true and false! Finally, we conclude that, with current medical practice, hypertension is not curable, and patients diagnosed with hypertension need long-term or even lifelong antihypertensive medication. Patients do not listen to bias, there is no “panacea” , “actively improve the lifestyle, in accordance with the law prescribed medication” is the most effective treatment.