Blood Pressure Medicines

Blood pressure refers to your blood’s force that is pushing against the walls of your arteries. It is classified according to the heart’s pumping of blood and its rest between beats, or the systolic and diastolic pressures respectively. In times that your blood pressure goes down its normal, you are considered to have hypotension, while when it is beyond or higher than the normal, it is hypertension, or the commonly known high blood pressure.

Whether you have hypertension or hypotension, aside from having the natural remedies to control your pressure, you also have the option to take blood pressure medicines. For years, blood pressure medicines are taken by a lot of hypotension and hypertension patients to control their blood pressures, with the hypertension patients ranked at the top.

Blood pressure medicines work in different ways to reduce blood pressure. Some by slowing down the heartbeat and relaxing blood vessels that have widen, while others is by removing the excess salts and fluids in the body. These medicines include Beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, Diuretics, and Calcium channel blockers, which have proven their worth for years, especially to high blood pressure patients. However, with the medications they render, they also have their individual side effects which were commonly experienced by those patients who have tried the medicine without consulting their doctors first. These side effects are;

  • Beta-blockers: cold feet and hands, mood swings, insomnia, slothful heartbeat, and asthma; make some individuals impotent, not advisable for diabetic patients
  • Diuretics: decreases supply of potassium in the body, gout, impotency, and increase in blood sugar levels
  • ACE inhibitors: skin rashes, hard cough, unresponsive taste buds, and damage in the kidneys
  • Calcium Channel blockers: swelling of the ankles, stomach problems, excessive palpitations, headache

Sometimes, one or more blood pressure medicines are given by your doctors that’s why consulting them first before considering one is important. But if your condition is not yet that worst, consider practicing the natural remedies for they are assured to have no side effects.

Blood Pressure Medication

Naturally, patients with high blood pressure are subject to high blood pressure medication, which is one means of lowering the blood pressure. With the studies conducted to find treatments for hypertension, various types of blood pressure medications have been discovered. These discovered medications have undergone a lot of research studies and tests to prove their effects before they are totally put on the market.

Once you are subject to blood pressure medication, it is important to have self-discipline. This self-discipline involves changing of your lifestyle and daily habits. It really is a must for medications won’t function effectively if what you take inside your body opposes the function of your medications. The most important part of your lifestyle that has to be changed is your diet. What you eat defines your health, therefore to make yourself healthy; you should eat healthy foods such as vegetables and fruits. Getting rid of vices and having a regular exercise are also good contributors to the effects of your medication to your body.

Just like any other drugs, blood pressure medicines also have their individual side effects. And sometimes, when you have multiple health problems, taking even just one of them may complicate your condition. As always, it is best to consult your doctors before considering one.

Medications for High Blood Pressure

A lot of medications for high blood pressure have been discovered nowadays. Some of them are known to be effective, some with just normal effects, and some deemed to be bad for our health.

These medications are divided into various types, depending on their functions and they are;

  • Diuretics

Diuretics basically function in the kidney by flushing the body’s excess water and sodium, giving them a name of “water pills”.

  • Alpha-blockers

Alpha-blockers lower blood pressure by reducing nerve impulses to blood vessels, which enables blood to pass more easily.

  • Beta-blockers

Beta-blockers enable the heart to work without so much force by reducing nerve impulses to the heart and blood vessels.

  • Alpha-beta-blockers

Alpha-beta-blockers are named so because it has the function of both the alpha and the beta blockers. They lower blood pressure by pumping less blood through the vessels.

  • ACE Inhibitors

Formation of Angiotensin II hormones are prevented by Angiotensin Converting Enzymes or ACE inhibitors, which causes blood vessels to narrow. And with that, vessels tend to relax lowering down blood pressure.

  • Nervous System Inhibitors

Nervous system inhibitors are good controllers of nerve impulses, widening the blood vessels that cause blood pressure to go down.

  • Angiotensin antagonists

Just like the nervous system inhibitors, angiotensin antagonists widen blood vessels. Their only difference is that, it does it by shielding the blood vessels from Angiotensin II.

  • Calcium Channel Blockers (CCBs)

Calcium Channel Blockers prevent calcium from entering cardiac muscles and the blood vessels, causing blood vessels to relax and reduce blood pressure.

  • Vasodilators

Vasodilators lower blood pressure by relaxing the muscles in the vessel walls.

These medications for high blood pressure have undergone a lot of tests before they were approved to be put in the market. However, though these medications have been approved already, they are not exempted of having side-effects that’s why it is important to consult your doctors before considering one of them as treatment for high blood pressure.

All Natural Remedies Prove Safer for High Blood Pressure than Medications & Pills

High blood pressure or what we commonly call hypertension is often referred to a ‘silent killer; a symptom if ignored can create a havoc in your remaining life! So it is not only important to recognize its existence within you but also take the right steps to pull down to control and most importantly, maintain the controlled levels with the help of blood pressure medications. Unfortunately, it is rather confusing and worrying to choose the right type of blood pressure medication, though you might have a doctor by your side and this is solely owing to its immense impact on the quality of life you would lead from hypertension. One ought to first identify the extent to which you suffer hypertension and then move ahead to treat it significantly. Quite obviously, controlling high blood pressure sans any medication is the best all probable worlds; however, sometimes it is just not possible to work without any medical help!

There are several types of high blood pressure pills that your doctor can choose from to prescribe to you. These include diuretics, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, alpha blockers, alpha-2 receptor agonist, central agonists, vasodilators, etc with their respective side effects. The strength, type and amount of blood pressure medications would depend on the elevation of the pressure in your body!

Depending On Your Blood Pressure Level

If you are a pre-hypertensive type, i.e. if your systolic pressure ranges from 120 to 139 and the diastolic blood pressure ranges from 80 to 89, your doctor would advise to make changes in your lifestyle including a healthier diet with exercises and reduction on alcohol intake. Often, these are the predominant medications high blood pressure patients begin with.

If you have progressed to stage 1 of high blood pressure (i.e. 140/90 to 159/99) then your doctor would prescribe high blood pressure pills, mostly the thiazide diuretic. The diuretic blood pressure medication flushes out excessive sodium and water from your system which triggers a reduction in high blood pressure. It also helps protects from stroke and heart attacks. It is very important here to bring in drastic lifestyle changes in addition to the blood pressure medications to lower your high blood pressure failing which you would progress to level 2 of hypertension.

If the diuretic fails to lessen the symptom, you might need a more powerful drug like ACE inhibitors, Angiotensin 2 Receptor blockers, Beta blockers, Calcium Channel blockers, etc.

If you have moved to Stage 2, you certainly don’t have any choice but to take a drug (or a combination of drugs) for the criteria here is to lower the high blood pressure. Combining two or more drugs is common but let your doctor decide for it. The medications high blood pressure patients need to take should be decided with core precision.

With all this information, it is also important to add that each of these high blood pressure pills come with side effects which even your doctor would inform you about. Also, just taking pills doesn’t help; you ought to change your lifestyle dramatically with a healthy and nutritious diet complimented by exercises and relaxation. Focusing on the 3 areas of exercises, diet and stress management along with your blood pressure medication effectively can significantly reduce your pressure reading at least by 20 points in three weeks. Also, today with the craze for going in for natural things, a lot of herbal blood pressure medications  are made available to naturally decrease your blood pressure and help you lead a healthy and happy, stress-free life!

Summary: High blood pressure or hypertension is the silent killer prevailing in the lives of many today. Not only is its identification important, but also is its treatment depending on the type and extent of hypertension you are suffering. There is an array of medications made available in the market including diuretics, vasodilators, ACE inhibitors, etc but a change in lifestyle also important.


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