Disease Index

Hypertension Treatment

Neha Mittal   by Neha Mittal, MS, Biotechnology    Last updated on August 8, 2018,

hypertension treatment

 

Hypertension or simply high blood pressure is a chronic life threatening disease which affects the life of an individual to a great extent. Since it is a silent disease, high blood pressure does not show any major symptoms at early stages. The indications may be visible at a stage when the health of a person deteriorates.

Hypertension may result in many severe complications and conditions such as chronic heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias, eye disorders, etc. It is extremely necessary to opt for a regular checkup by a healthcare professional so that the disease can be diagnosed in time. The treatment options are then decided by doctors on the basis of severity of hypertension.

Treating hypertension

The main motive behind treating hypertension is to normalize or lower high blood pressure and protect the organs form damaging. Using drugs and medication cannot help alone in managing the disease. Lifestyle changes and modifications are also necessary for controlling high blood pressure and maintaining good health.

Medications for treating hypertension

There are certain medicines or drugs that are prescribed by doctors or healthcare professionals to treat hypertension. Some major drugs used to control high blood pressure are listed below:

Beta Blockers

Beta blockers are drugs that decrease the workload on your heart. It opens the blood vessels for blood to flow smoothly across them. Acebutolol (Sectral) and atenolol (Tenormin) are two widely prescribed beta blockers that reduce the heart beat and make the heart work with less force.

Beta blockers work more effectively when prescribed with other medicines.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors

Medicines such as lisinopril (Zestril), captopril (Capoten) and others help in relaxing the blood vessels and preventing the formation of certain chemical compounds that blocks the blood vessels. Such medicines are widely prescribed to patients with kidney complications as a result of hypertension.

Calcium channel blockers

Calcium channel blocker drugs helps to relax the blood vessels and slow down heart beat. Some common drugs that are widely used as calcium channel blockers are:

  • Amlodioine (Norvasc)
  • Diltiazem (Cardizem, Tiazac) etc.

Renin inhibitors


Renin is an enzyme produced by kidneys that initiates a chemical reaction and results in an increase in blood pressure. Tekturna is a rennin inhibitor that reduces the function of rennin, thus keeping the blood pressure in control.

Diuretics

Diuretics are commonly known as water pills and helps in excreting excess salts and water from the body. Some common examples of diuretics are indapamide, bendroflumethiazide, etc.

In addition to above drugs, there are some other medications that can be prescribed by the doctors depending upon the severity of the disease. Some of these drugs are:-

  • Alpha blockers
  • Alpha beta blockers
  • Vasodilators
  • Central-acting agent

By using such drugs, patients can reduce their high blood pressure and lead a healthy life. However, sometimes it becomes very difficult to control high blood pressure despite of using the prescribed drugs. In such cases, the patient may suffer from resistant hypertension.

Having resistant hypertension does not mean that the person will never have a normal blood pressure. It’s just he has to make some major changes in his medication to see a good effect. For this, he can consult his or her doctor and talk about all the possibilities, either in drugs or lifestyle that can be chosen in order to control high blood pressure.

Adapting a healthy Lifestyle

Although, drugs help greatly in managing hypertension but adapting a good and healthy lifestyle is also an important aspect of high blood pressure management. Blood pressure can be controlled if the following points are adapted in the daily life routine.

  • Opting for a regular exercise regimen to stay fit and healthy,
  • Keeping the weight under control
  • Minimize the intake of alcohol
  • Quit smoking
  • Replacing fast foods, junk food, etc with healthy food products such as fruits and vegetables.
  • Reducing the intake of salt in the diet to control high blood pressure

Adapting to such a healthy lifestyle will not only control high blood pressure but will also make a person active and free from other severe diseases. It is very important for people to follow a perfect lifestyle and take medicines on time so as to control their blood pressure. Other than medicines and lifestyle changes, regular checkups are also advisable to keep yourself aware about the health condition and stay healthy.

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