The Best Medication for Hypertension

Hypertension is a condition in which blood pressure shoots to abnormally high levels. There are a number of medicines available for treating high blood pressure. The medicines prescribed by your doctor depend on the level of your blood pressure. Apart from medication, there are a few lifestyle changes that are necessary to supplement the medication.

Medication

• For stage 1 high blood pressure patients, the doctor might prescribe a diuretic (known as water pills). These pills flush the excessive sodium and water from the body and lower the blood pressure. Other choices of medicines include:
  • Beta-blockers: they cause the heart to beat with less force and slowly.
  • Calcium channel blockers: they tend to relax the muscles and reduce the force of blood pumping.
  • Angiotensin converting enzyme: these are chemicals which stop blood vessels from tightening up. Consequently, blood pressure reduces.
  • Vasodilators: these chemicals work directly on the arteries and help them relax. Resultantly, the blood moves easily through them.

Considerations

• Instead of taking just one diuretic, adding one of the medications above can give quicker results. It can reduce the chances of complications in the high blood pressure. Combination of medications depends on individual bodies and circumstances, and you are advised to consult your physician before adopting any medication.

Preventive Measures

• There is a designed program for reducing blood pressure which includes diet changes, regular exercise and antihypertensive medication.
  Basically, lifestyle changes include:
  • Reduction of salt intake
  • Reduction of fat intake
  • Regular workout program
  • No smoking
  • Stress management
  • Reduction of alcohol consumption

Side Effects

• Any medicine can have side effects and different people respond differently to side effects. For instance, by taking ACE inhibitor, you can get a dry cough while some other people might not have same side effects.

Recommendation

• If you are having trouble with a specific medicine, you can get your doctor to prescribe another which might not give you any difficulty at all.