Modern medicine also warns against the dangerous situation where wind-phlegm surges to the head, as described in Donguibogam. This refers to the serious condition known as hypertensive encephalopathy. Rather than just elevated blood pressure, it is an emergency in which blood pressure spikes abnormally and acutely, triggering severe dysfunction in brain activity. Our brain normally possesses cerebral autoregulation, which adapts to blood pressure fluctuations. However, when blood pressure rises too abruptly and severely, this regulatory capacity is pushed beyond its limits. Just as a dam's floodgates burst when unable to withstand pressure, small cerebral blood vessels become exposed to excessive pressure, causing blood to flood into the brain far beyond what is needed. Consequently, cerebral edema develops as excessive fluid accumulates in brain tissue, which ultimately causes intracranial pressure to rise rapidly.
Under these circumstances, the brain cannot function normally, and diverse symptoms begin to manifest. Most commonly, these include severe, splitting headaches, nausea and vomiting, as well as stupor and disorientation where one struggles to properly comprehend the surroundings. In severe cases, an epileptic seizure may occur, or visual impairment can arise where vision blurs and objects appear doubled. Furthermore, slurred speech and speech disorder can also occur, as the brain areas responsible for speech become compressed or injured by the edema. Because these symptoms represent an urgent distress signal sent by the brain, operating on an entirely different level from ordinary fatigue or stress, they must never be neglected. If a person with hypertension experiences these symptoms, they must seek an emergency room immediately. Hypertensive encephalopathy is a perilous illness that can lead to permanent brain injury or even threaten life if proper treatment is delayed. This once again reminds us of how vital daily blood pressure management is.
