This post was most recently updated on July 25th, 2023
Proper home care for high blood pressure plays an extremely important role in reducing the risk of stroke and preventing other dangerous cardiovascular complications. If the blood pressure is above 180/120 mmHg and accompanied by symptoms, it is necessary to give first aid at home, then go to the hospital for treatment immediately.
When to give first aid and how to give first aid to people with high blood pressure before taking them to the hospital, what should be done? We invite you to learn and discover with Health My Lives!
When would it be of high blood pressure emergency?
There are cases where a sudden rise in blood pressure is considered a hypertensive crisis and requires immediate first aid. This is when the systolic blood pressure rises above 180 mmHg and/or the diastolic blood pressure rises above 120 mmHg. Depending on each case, the patient may have signs of organ damage in the body such as chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness and weakness in limbs, blurred vision, dizziness, headache, dizziness, unconsciousness, or hard to say.
If there are no signs of organ damage, the patient only needs to treat at home according to the instructions below. If there is organ damage, the patient also needs to be treated for high blood pressure at home before an ambulance takes him to the hospital. Because delay in treatment can be life-threatening, even leading to many dangerous complications such as myocardial infarction, kidney failure, heart failure, acute pulmonary edema, memory loss, stroke.
How to give first aid to people with high blood pressure on a case-by-case basis
Symptoms are mild, the patient is awake
For patients with chronic hypertension, sometimes they experience a hypertensive emergency, i.e. a blood pressure rise of 180/120 mmHg without evidence of end-organ damage. Some of the symptoms they often experience due to high blood pressure are feeling pain in the neck, back of the neck, or feeling lightheaded, dizzy, and unable to stand but still have the ability to be aware, alert, and able to talk.
In this case, cardiologists still recommend that the patient should not be taken lightly, but let the patient lie on the bed and rest, limit movement, and avoid sound and light stimulation. Then, measure your blood pressure every 15 minutes and contact your doctor immediately for instructions on appropriate medication. If you forget to take your blood pressure medication during the day, you need to give it to the patient to take it, blood pressure will quickly improve, very rarely, patients have to be hospitalized for treatment.
Patient is unconscious or has a stroke
Some patients with sudden high blood pressure may develop symptoms of brain damage, including lightheadedness, dizziness, and even unconsciousness. The way to give first aid to high blood pressure at home at this time is to let the patient lie still in place, lean to one side, and raise the head about 30 degrees to reduce the risk of reflux and vomiting, aspiration into the lungs. It is important to avoid shaking or moving the patient because it can increase blood pressure and increase the risk of stroke.
Finally, call an ambulance to get the patient to the hospital safely.
First aid for high blood pressure at home when the patient has difficulty breathing, chest pain
When blood pressure rises too suddenly, patients can suffer heart damage, leading to acute heart failure, myocardial infarction with symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath and sweating, cold hands and feet. First aid for people with high blood pressure is still to keep the patient in place, avoiding noise. Relatives should not massage their breasts or squeeze their limbs. Also, help the patient loosen their clothes and call an ambulance to take them to the nearest hospital.
In addition, in the above cases, family members should open the door wide, disperse the crowd to avoid noise, and give the patient an airy space to breathe.
Things not to do when treating high blood pressure at home
- Do not let the patient talk too much because this will increase the excitement and can also increase the blood pressure further.
- If a patient has signs of a stroke , they should not be given anything to eat or drink, especially coffee or alcohol.
- Do not arbitrarily give the patient medicine without the prescription of the doctor. Because if the drug is used to lower blood pressure rapidly, this can cause damage to organs due to sudden decrease in perfusion.
- After the first aid steps, calmly wait for an ambulance, do not affect the patient easily making the situation more serious. Absolutely do not apply things that have no scientific basis such as squeezing lemons into the mouth, pricking needles, squeezing blood from fingers and feet when the patient is weak because of pain, so it is easy to cause the patient’s blood pressure to rise higher.
Hopefully, through this article, you have better understand the steps to treat high blood pressure at home in each case before you can take the patient to the hospital. Treatment of severe hypertensive crisis may sometimes require hospitalization for specific oral medications or intravenous infusions and inpatient monitoring of blood pressure to stabilize for several days before further reassurance can be made to continue outpatient treatment.
