There are many different medications for high blood pressure (antihypertensive drugs), each with advantages and disadvantages. Your doctor may prescribe more than one type of drug to treat your condition.
Taking medications as prescribed, monitoring blood pressure and making lifestyle changes can help achieve and maintain healthy blood pressure.
Lifestyle changes
If you are beginning to develop high blood pressure (pre-hypertensive state) or if you already have it, lifestyle changes can help reduce or eliminate the need for medication.
Try these steps to help lower and control blood pressure.
- Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
- Decrease the amount of salt (sodium) in your diet.
- Do not smoke
- Control stress
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Regularly practice physical exercise. Dąż do 30 minut umiarkowanej aktywności przez większość dni w tygodniu. Możesz podzielić swoją aktywność na trzy 10-minutowe sesje dziennie.
Avoid or limit alcohol. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. For healthy adults, this means up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men.
Treatment options
If lifestyle changes are not enough to control blood pressure, your doctor will likely prescribe blood pressure medication. You may be prescribed one or more of these medications:
Water pills (diuretics). A diuretic removes excess water and sodium from the body, allowing less fluid to flow through the veins and arteries. This reduces pressure on the walls of blood vessels.
Types of diuretics include thiazide, loop diuretics and potassium-sparing diuretics. If diuretics are not enough to lower blood pressure, your doctor may recommend adding other blood pressure medications to your treatment.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. They help relax blood vessels by preventing the formation of a chemical (angiotensin) that constricts blood vessels.
Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers (ARBs). These drugs block the action of angiotensin.
Calcium channel blockers. These drugs prevent calcium from entering the heart cells and arteries, allowing the arteries to relax and open.
Beta-blockers. These drugs work by blocking the action of the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline. They cause the heart to beat more slowly and with less force.
Renin inhibitors. Renin is a substance produced by the kidneys that triggers a series of actions that cause blood pressure to rise. Renin inhibitors slow down the production of this substance.
Other medications sometimes used to treat high blood pressure
If you are unable to achieve your blood pressure with one or more of the above medications, other medications that lower blood pressure include:
Alpha-blockers. Alpha-blockers prevent the hormone norepinephrine from tightening the muscles in the walls of the smaller arteries and veins, keeping the vessels open and relaxed.
Alpha-beta blockers. Alpha-beta blockers work similarly to beta blockers. They may be prescribed if you have high blood pressure and are at risk for heart failure.
Measures of central action. These drugs prevent the brain from sending signals to the nervous system to speed up the heart and constrict blood vessels. As a result, the heart doesn't pump as hard, and blood flows more easily through veins and arteries.
Vasodilators. These drugs prevent the muscles in the veins and arteries from tightening and constricting. As a result, blood flows more easily and the heart doesn't have to pump as hard.
Aldosterone antagonists. These drugs are often used with other medications, such as diuretics. Aldosterone antagonists block the hormone aldosterone, which sometimes causes salt and fluid retention, contributing to high blood pressure. They are usually prescribed for those whose high blood pressure is difficult to control or who have diabetes or heart failure.
How well a drug works depends on a person's age, gender, race, blood pressure level and overall health.
A combination of two drugs usually works better than a single drug to get blood pressure under control. Sometimes additional drugs are needed to achieve the desired blood pressure level.
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