Wonderful One

Blood pressure is defined as the force of blood on the walls of blood vessels as it passes through. If your blood pressure remains elevated, this can cause damage to the blood vessels which leads to complications like stroke and heart attack. If you have hypertension, blood pressure treatment is started.

A person is considered to be hypertensive if his or her blood pressure readings are 140 over 90 or higher in two separate occasions. The good news is that hypertension is treatable through many different ways. Of course, there are various drugs designed to treat hypertension. In fact, doctors usually prescribe anti-hypertensive drugs when a person is diagnosed with hypertension. What are the different available anti-hypertensive drugs nowadays?

Diuretics are the most common form of medications prescribed to treat hypertension. Diuretics make a person urinate more often in order to remove the excess salt and water in the body. Once excess salt and water are urinated, blood pressure becomes lower and the heart can pump easily. Diuretics can cause adverse effects like dehydration, dizziness, muscle cramps, arrhythmia, and others.

One kind of drugs that is commonly prescribed for hypertension is angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. ACE inhibitors work by dilating the blood vessels which leads to increase in blood flow, decrease in blood pressure, and easier work for the heart. Also, ACE inhibitors could protect the kidneys from the effects of hypertension. ACE inhibitors can cause adverse effects like sore throat, severe vomiting or diarrhea, dizziness, cough, and others.

One of the most common forms of medicines used to treat hypertension is angiotensin II receptor blockers or ARBs. The narrowing of blood vessels is prevented by ARBs because angiotensin II is blocked. Therefore, ARBs cause the blood vessels to dilate which results to increased blood flow and decreased blood pressure. If a hypertensive person cannot tolerate the side effects of ACE inhibitors, ARBs are prescribed instead. Some of the usual side effects of ARBs are dizziness, diarrhea, cough, confusion, severe vomiting, and others.

One of the most common forms of drugs used to treat hypertension is beta-blockers. These drugs are able to decrease the work of the heart which makes it pump with less oxygen and blood. Some of the common side effects of beta-blockers are dizziness, fatigue, slow heartbeat, edema, and others.

Calcium channel blockers are another form of medications prescribed to treat hypertension. These drugs slow down the movement of calcium into the heart and blood vessels which results to widened blood vessels. The typical side effects of calcium channel blockers include dry mouth, dizziness, headache, and others.

Aside from prescribing anti-hypertensive drugs, the doctor will also discuss some lifestyle changes that are proven effective in reducing blood pressure. Some of these lifestyle changes include smoking cessation, reduced alcohol and caffeine intake, regular exercise, proper diet, and stress reduction. In conjunction with anti-hypertensive medications, these lifestyle changes usually make up the blood pressure treatment that doctors prescribe to their patients.

Tags: blood pressure, blood pressure treatment, high blood pressure, hypertension

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 7:20 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.