Abstract
Objective: To study the diet and lifestyle of patients with essential hypertension (AH) and unstable blood pressure (BP) figures. Design and method: The study involved 82 patients with essential hypertension (45% of men, 55% of women). The average age was 62 years (from 40 to 85 years). Duration of arterial hypertension was from 1 year and more than 13 years. All patients consulted a doctor in outpatient department for unstable blood pressure figures. Results: When analyzing the lifestyle of patients with essential hypertension and unstable BP numbers, it was revealed that 91% of cases diet wasn’t kept. 58% of respondents (of whom 62% of cases are men) refuse to exclude coffee and strong tea from their diet. Abuse of fatty, fried and smoked food accounted for 85% of patients, where again a greater number of cases 78% accounted for the male population. As for the salting, 55% of patients do not even examine it by tasting, and again, 66% of cases are men. 51% of respondents do not exclude alcohol from their diet. And again, the majority are men, 63% of the respondents. Only 19% of patients had a body mass index within normal limits, the remaining 81% of patients had a body mass index higher than normal. Slightly more than half of the 54% studied patients lead a physically active lifestyle. In this group, women are more active, accounting for 60% of cases. 98% of the patients we examined were trained in school for hypertension, but only 4% of them remember a year later what they were taught. Conclusions: For patients with unstable BP numbers, a properly chosen diet plays a crucial role, which, combined with daily dynamic physical exertion, can prevent the development of stroke and heart disease. For patients with this disease it is necessary to attend schools for arterial hypertension every year, in order to replenish old knowledge and acquire new ones.