Health care guidelines and medication warnings for patients with hypertension in cold weather

Precautions for Hypertensive Patients in Cold Weather: Cold weather is a major threat to hypertension, so hypertensive patients should take special precautions.

(1) Do not get out of bed immediately upon waking. Move around in bed and ask family members to warm the room.

(2) Use warm water to wash your face and brush your teeth.

(3) Wear warm clothing when using the toilet.

(4) Wear gloves, a hat, scarf, and a coat when going out to keep warm.

(5) Do small movements such as stepping in place while waiting for a bus.

(6) Wear less clothing in heated areas and add more clothing when leaving.

(7) Wipe your skin with a dry cloth to prevent catching a cold.

(8) Before bathing, fill the bathroom with steam and wait until the temperature rises before entering.

(9) To avoid catching a cold when using the toilet at night, place a commode in the bedroom.

(10) Avoid eating salty snacks while drinking alcohol. (11) Caution should be exercised when using analgesics in patients with hypertension: People frequently experience various types of pain in daily life, such as headaches, toothaches, and joint pain. Therefore, analgesics are widely used and have become a staple in many households. The damage to the body (such as to the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract) caused by improper use of analgesics, as well as adverse reactions that mask symptoms, have attracted the attention of many patients. However, the serious consequences of some chronic patients misusing analgesics are little known. Adverse reactions to certain analgesics in patients with hypertension and coronary heart disease are one example.

Indomethacin is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and antipyretic analgesic, belonging to the category of non-anesthetic and other commonly used drugs for inflammatory pain. It can also be used for gout, cancer fever, etc. The pharmacological action of indomethacin is to inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandins, a class of substances that can cause inflammation, fever, and pain. Prostaglandins in the human body have the effect of dilating peripheral blood vessels and coronary arteries. Frequent use of indomethacin can lower prostaglandin levels in the body than normal, leading to vasospasm, worsening myocardial ischemia and hypoxia, and easily inducing coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. In severe cases, it can lead to myocardial infarction and endanger life.

Prostaglandins can increase renal blood flow and promote the excretion of water and sodium. It is well known that excessive sodium and water retention in the body is one of the causes of hypertension. Therefore, indomethacin inhibits prostaglandin synthesis, resulting in reduced renal blood flow and water and sodium excretion, which also contributes to increased blood pressure.

Studies have found that patients with hypertension and coronary heart disease have lower prostaglandin concentrations in their blood than normal people. Taking indomethacin further inhibits its synthesis, undoubtedly exacerbating the condition of cardiovascular patients, and even causing a sharp increase in blood pressure, leading to serious consequences such as stroke. Therefore, patients with hypertension and coronary heart disease, especially the elderly, should not self-medicate with painkillers when experiencing joint pain, back pain, leg pain, or other pain.