The key facts
- Hypertension often runs without symptoms, and headache and dizziness by themselves do not indicate high blood pressure
- Similar symptoms may hide migraine, inner ear diseases, anemia, thyroid disorders and anxiety conditions
- The doctor warns against taking blood pressure pills without checking the tonometer and lists the signs that require emergency care
Symptoms are not the same as a diagnosis
Headache, dizziness, weakness and ringing in the ears are often mistaken for signs of high blood pressure, yet this set of symptoms is nonspecific. In a comment to Life.ru, neurologistEkaterina Demyanovskaya, an expert physician at the Gemotest Laboratory, explained that arterial hypertension often runs without symptoms, and feeling unwell by itself does not prove that tonometer readings deviate from the norm. Moreover, pain and the stress it causes can temporarily raise blood pressure — in that case a person mistakenly believes it is the cause of the malaise, although the rise was merely the body's reaction.
What may lie behind familiar complaints
Pain in the back of the head, often considered 'hypertensive', according to Demyanovskaya, can arise from neck muscle strain, migraine or tension headache. A sensation of objects spinning when turning the head is typical of vestibular disorders, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, while lightheadedness after standing up abruptly, on the contrary, points to low blood pressure, including against the background of impaired autonomic regulation. Ringing and noise in the ears may be linked to inner ear diseases and hearing loss; the doctor stressed that it is especially important to see a physician if the noise is one-sided or is accompanied by hearing deterioration and ear pain. Constant weakness, drowsiness and a 'cottony head' should not automatically be blamed on blood pressure: such symptoms occur in iron-deficiency anemia, thyroid disorders and carbohydrate metabolism problems, lack of sleep and dehydration. Episodes of palpitations, hot flashes, sweating and trembling, which are often mistaken for a hypertensive crisis, may be associated with anxiety conditions, arrhythmias, low glucose levels or hormonal changes.
Why self-treatment is dangerous and when to call an ambulance
The main mistake, in the specialist's opinion, is taking blood-pressure-lowering medications without checking the tonometer readings: uncontrolled use can lower blood pressure excessively and worsen the condition. With recurring complaints, she recommends seeing a general practitioner with a blood pressure diary; depending on the complaints, a complete blood count, glucose testing, a TSH test, electrocardiography and other examinations may be ordered. A sudden severe headache, speech impairment, weakness on one side of the body, chest pain and a sharp deterioration of vision, according to Demyanovskaya, cannot be explained away as fatigue or blood pressure fluctuations — they may indicate acute circulatory disorders and require emergency care. Life.ru also recalls an earlier publication in which an endocrinologist noted that hypertension can go on for years without pronounced symptoms, gradually damaging blood vessels and increasing the risk of stroke, and recommended that adults measure their blood pressure at least once a year, especially after age 40, if overweight, under constant stress, or with a hereditary predisposition; hidden fluctuations — rising only in the doctor's office or mostly at home — can be detected with a measurement diary and 24-hour monitoring.
