Hypertension - 高血压

This entry can be translated from English WikivoyageCorresponding entryTo expand. If you are familiar with this language, please help translate!

The medical-related content in Wikivoyage is for reference only, seeMedical statement . If you need medical services or reliable advice, please consult a professional. In an emergency, please call the localEmergency call。

Hypertension is a chronic disease with persistently high blood pressure. Hypertension generally has no symptoms, but long-term hypertension is the main risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. High blood pressure may affect your travel a bit.

Every year, millions of hypertensive patients travel for business, leisure and family gatherings. Hypertensive patients not only have to deal with all the problems faced by other travelers, but also the problems specific to their situation. In order to make travel as safe, comfortable and enjoyable as possible, here are some suggestions.

basic concept

The automatic arm sphygmomanometer showed a systolic blood pressure of 158 mmHg, a diastolic blood pressure of 99 mmHg, and a heart rate of 80 beats per minute. Be sure to bring this when traveling.

Blood pressure is divided into two types: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which is the measurement value of muscle contraction or diastole when the heart beats; systolic blood pressure is the maximum value of blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure is the minimum value of blood pressure.

If the blood pressure continues to exceed 130/80 or 140/90 mmHg (systolic/diastolic blood pressure), it may be a symptom of hypertension.

Age-related

Neonatal hypertension is very rare, because babies under one year old are not suitable for traveling, so I won’t repeat them.

Items needed

drug

First of all, make sure to buy the medicines you need before departure; if your travel time exceeds the normal replenishment time for prescription medicines, please ask your doctor for some vacation items. If you travel for longer than the time guaranteed by the doses they provide, when you need supplementary medicines abroad, you need to know how to get more medicines. Some places may give you a new prescription without a diagnosis; but in other places, you must accept an appointment and a doctor's examination to get prescription drugs. Without local medical insurance, an appointment may cost a lot of money. Time and money.

sphygmomanometer

Secondly, if you believe that your blood pressure is not well controlled, you should buy a good digital blood pressure monitor. Please be sure to test its accuracy against the doctor’s professional equipment readings. In order to avoid unnecessary worry, if the user's arm circumference is large, you can buy a monitor with an adjustable cuff. It is suitable for people with large arms, although the price may be higher (a sphygmomanometer with a small cuff is likely to give you a high blood pressure reading). When you travel, make sure your monitor has a charge and bring extra batteries.

insurance

Third, if you are going to a country where the emergency medical treatment and hospitalization costs may be very expensive and are not covered by the domestic medical insurance policy, then you can consider buying travel insurance because you don’t want to have a heart attack during your vacation. Or a brain hemorrhage owes tens of thousands of dollars in debt that cannot be repaid. When buying travel insurance, it’s very important to tell the insurance company about your physical condition. Otherwise, they willSmall print contentPay you, not the actual amount on the hospital bill. The insurance included in the package holiday or bank account is unlikely to be sufficient.

meal

Salt intake

When your blood pressure is not well controlled, a low-sodium diet is essential for you. The upper limit of daily sodium intake is2-2.4g(The US Food and Drug Administration recommends that "the average person consumes no more than 2300 mg of sodium per day"), which is about one teaspoon of salt. But remember that sodium is also naturally present in many foods, so the total intake of sodium is not just the amount of added salt. Some people need to limit their daily sodium intake to well below 2.3 grams, so be sure to follow the doctor’s personal recommendations.

The best way to ensure a low-sodium diet is to know yourselfWhat are you eating. You can cook your own food and eat fresh fruits and vegetables, but you must carefully check the sodium content of pre-packaged foods (yogurt is a good source of low-sodium nutrition). Restaurants usually use a lot of salt, and you can’t eat it. Soups, salad dressings, and sauces made by restaurants should default to foods that contain a lot of salt. You should also be very cautious about bread and other baked goods (although traditional bread is made without salt in Tuscany, this is rarely the case in other places). In other words, although almost no restaurant will make low-salt sauces for you from scratch, because these sauces are already prepared, many restaurants will provide you with low-salt foods, such as no cheese or croutons. Unprocessed salads; steamed vegetables without sauces; stir-fried vegetables without salt, soy sauce, and salty soup; sometimes grilled vegetables without salt or other baked or grilled foods are also provided for you. However, if you do not confirm with the restaurant in person or by phone in advance, you think the restaurant will accommodate your special request. This is quite unsafe, especially when the restaurant is very busy and the owner pursues a high turnover rate.

Some foods are difficult to grasp the sodium content for people on low-salt diet. For example, in Southeast Asia, most foods include shrimp paste, fish sauce or salted dried shrimp; hot sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, soup made in restaurants, and almost all kinds of cheese. These are high-salt foods. Of course, if you don’t understand the local language, it’s even more difficult to express your health claims to the waiter.

Sugar intake

Research shows that for many people, excess sugar may be more likely to increase your blood pressure than excess sodium. Based on this, please consider restricting or avoiding foods with high glycemic index (there are many online lists showing the glycemic index and/or glycemic load of foods), including sweet desserts made with sucrose (table sugar), white rice, white bread, and Bagels, and many processed foods, if you don’t look at the ingredient list and the nutrient content list (a table of five items that contains energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates, and sodium), you might not suspect that they are so unhealthy. In some countries such as the United States, many restaurants add a lot of sugar to their sauces in order to cater to the tastes of customers.

in conclusion

People who have good blood pressure control can go out to eat, but if blood pressure is not well controlled, it is better to do it yourself.

drinks

Patients with high blood pressure can consider reducing their intake of caffeine (such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and cola), alcohol, and sugary beverages (such as soft drinks and sweet juices). With regard to alcoholic beverages, special attention should be paid to the fact that almost all cocktails are composed of sugar or other sweeteners. However, even if you avoid all these types of beverages altogether, you will find many delicious herbal teas and other types of beverages during your travels. For other beverages, please consult your doctor, but in moderation, occasionally drinking a little alcohol or tea may not cause obvious harm to you.

ensure safety

Notice:Please note that people with high blood pressure are feelingSudden increase in blood pressureCall the local emergency medical service hotline in time for timely treatment.

Sitting in the train and enjoying is a good way to relax.

In the case of controlling blood pressure and its complications, proper travel is conducive to relaxation and alleviation of the condition. However, patients with hypertension should pay attention to:

• existSomeone to escort(PreferablyImmediate family) In case of travel. This is for family members to make major medical decisions (such as agreeing to surgery) in an emergency.
• Minimize the use of airplanes to prevent blood pressure from rising.
• During the trip, take the medicine as directed by your doctor.
• Patients with severe hypertension, arrhythmia, and patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications are not suitable for long-distance fatigue.
• Take your medicine with you. Failure to take the medicine on schedule may cause discomfort, but it may also be life-threatening.