Hypertension Clinic
The Hypertension Clinic at Metropolitan General provides high-quality exploration and treatment for hypertension and timely diagnosis and/or prevention of accompanying lesions. The cardiologists in-charge are specialized physicians with many years of clinical and research experience.
What is hypertension?
Hypertension is the condition in which arterial vessel pressure is at increased levels. This condition affects a quarter of the general population, becoming more frequent at older ages. This is a silent and treacherous enemy, since it presents no symptoms and functions as a “toxic bond” in our health portfolio. The effects of hypertension make it the first cause for death worldwide.
Timely diagnosis and successful therapy play an important role in the effective management of hypertension. Despite the great number of medicinal substances at our disposal for treatment, only three quarters of hypertensive patients are aware of their condition, while just half of them receive some kind of treatment care and unfortunately only one in four, or, in the best case scenario, one in three, do adjust successfully their blood pressure to desirable levels. Unfortunately, approximately 800 million hypertensive patients ignore successful adjustment of this condition.
Causes
One of the causes of undiagnosed hypertension, delayed treatment and ineffective adjustment of hypertensive patients seems to stem from the downplaying of the role of accurate and reliable arterial blood pressure measurement, by both physicians and patients, through correct measurement procedures and the use of an properly licensed blood pressure gauge.
Modern treatment
All hypertensive patients should actively participate in the process of managing hypertension, since half the work is done in the doctor’s office, while the other half at home.
Adopting the following health-diet, non-medicinal measures is an integral part of treatment, since they help in significant lowering of arterial blood pressure, equal to the administration of at least one extra medicine.
- Aerobic exercise
- No salt intake
- Lowering body weight
- Limiting excessive alcohol consumption
- No smoking
- Mediterranean diet
Additionally, we have numerous and good medicinal substances at our disposal for the adjustment of hypertension, in the form of readily available combination of two or three different drugs in one pill. These ready-made drug combinations boost compliance with treatment regimes and adjustment of hypertensive patients.
Effective hypertension treatment leads to beneficial reduction of cardiovascular episodes (myocardial infarctions, vascular stroke episodes, kidney disease leading to artificial kidney dialysis, etc) and cardiovascular mortality thus improving hypertensive patient quality of life.
Hypertension does not present symptoms, making accurate and regular blood pressure monitoring imperative, ultimately aiming at timely diagnosis and effective treatment. Patient cooperation with his/her attending physician is the necessary precondition that renders the best possible benefit, with reduction in deaths and disabilities and significant improvement in quality of life.
STAFF
Head of the department
Maria Papavasiliou, Cardiologist- Hypertension Specialist (ESH Clinical Hypertension Specialist)
