A variety of blood pressure medications are available to treat a patient’s individual condition. Doctors and patients work together to find the best treatment that may involve flushing out certain substances from the body, improving blood vessel function, or preventing the processes that increase blood pressure.
Blood pressure medications are one way of lowering blood pressure, but lifestyle changes also help to reduce or prevent the condition. Controlling blood pressure may include a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and low-fat foods. Exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and limiting alcohol intake also improve blood pressure.
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Certain medications are used for patients with blood pressure slightly above normal while others are necessary when blood pressure becomes higher. Doctors might recommend more than one medication to increase effectiveness or avoid complications from high blood pressure.
Here are a few types of blood pressure medications:
• Diuretics, also known as water pills, help the kidneys eliminate water and sodium through urination, and also reduce blood volume.
• Beta blockers slow the heart rate so blood is pumped with less force. They may be used with other
blood pressure medications, explains Everyday Health.
• Calcium channel blockers relax muscles in the blood vessels and may slow the heart.
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• Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) relax blood vessels to block the chemical process that narrows them. They prevent the body from making angiotensin II, the hormone that narrows blood vessels.
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers also block the action of angiotensin II by relaxing blood vessels.
• Alpha blockers are blood pressure medications that relax blood vessels through the reduction of nerve impulses to allow better blood flow,
according to FamilyDoctor.org. Alpha-beta blockers only work on nerve impulses so the heart beats slower and blood flows through vessels less forcefully.
• Renin inhibitors reduce the production of renin, an enzyme that begins the chemical process involved in raising blood pressure.
Many medications have side effects ranging from normal to severe, so choosing the right blood pressure medication is a decision made by the patient with the help of the doctor to regulate the condition.
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