Medications for Hypertension & Headache

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one of the most common medical conditions around the world. It is an important public health problem with high mortality morbidity and one of the symptoms is headache.

Background Physiology

• Blood pressure control, even in a healthy individual, is a complicated process because it results from a combination of cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance (PVR), each of which can be influenced by a variety of factors.

Abnormal Physiology

• Abnormal increase in blood pressure can be caused by by many factors. Thes include expansion of blood volume; disturbances in electrolyes; and problems in kidneys and adrenal glands. Additionally, eclampsia (normal condition in pregnancy, and pheochromocytoma, a tumor that secretes the hormone epinepherine.

Why Hypertension Causes Headaches

• High blood pressure in the systemic circulation (circulation throughout body tissues as opposed to circulation through the lungs to oxygenate the blood) is felt everywhere, and thus all the way to the arteries feeding the brain,returning blood from the vein to the heart. Because there is more blood in the head, the intracranial pressure (pressure inside the skull cavity) is elevated.

Selecting Medications for Hypertension with Headache

• Drugs that are approved for hypertension are limited and clinical studies constantly enable new medications against hypertension to enter the clinic. The decision on which drugs to prescribe depends on the type ad severity of a patient's condition.

Common Drugs for Hypertension

• Categories of drugs prescribed for hypertension include: calcium channel blockers, which help blood vessels to dilate; inhibitors of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE inhibotors), and thiazide-type diuretics. Another category is angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), while another group, beta-blockers are given as well. When hypertension is severe, often two or more of these drug classes are given in combination.