High Blood Pressure Pill: Is it Right for you?

Your physician has good news and bad news: the bad news is that you are suffering from high blood pressure, also called hypertension. If you don’t get your blood pressure under control quickly, you will very likely suffer from a stroke, heart attack, or kidney failure.

The good news is that there is a high blood pressure pill available which can make a rapid and effective change in your risk for developing these life-threatening conditions by lowering your blood pressure.

Many people simply do not like to take pills and use medications sparingly. They may prefer natural herbal preparations to cope with injury and illness. Of course, this is a matter of personal choice. Keep in mind, however, that a high blood pressure pill may very well be the best and most rapid way to keep you alive.

Type of High Blood Pressure Pill

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is one remarkable type of high blood pressure pill in particular; they specifically target your kidneys. An ACE drug triggers a complex series of chemical reactions in your kidneys that release hormones that raise blood pressure. ACE inhibitors prevent these hormone-enzyme reactions and lower your blood pressure.

ACE inhibitors are excellent type of high blood pressure pill because they have few side effects and are tolerated very well. However, they cannot be used during pregnancy; if you are pregnant, or if you are hoping to become pregnant, you need to talk with your physician about this issue if you’ve been diagnosed with hypertension. An example of an ACE inhibitor is Lisinapril.

Another class of the high blood pressure pill is that of Beta blockers. These drugs are ranked as the first-line therapy for hypertension. How Beta blockers work is uncertain, but they appear to act on hypertension in several ways: (1) Reducing the amount of blood pumped into your circulatory system, (2) Blocking the effect of hormones and enzymes that cause high blood pressure, (3) Lowering blood volume, (4) Relaxing small arteries that may become constricted, and (5) Regulating your body’s internal thermostat for blood pressure. 

Beta blockers reduce both systolic (the top number) and diastolic (the bottom number) pressure. Your doctor will keep track of your diastolic pressure to make sure it doesn’t fall too low. These types of the high blood pressure pill can be cautiously used during pregnancy. An example of a Beta blocker is the drug Atenolol.

A calcium channel blocker is a high blood pressure pill that is very effective for treatment of hypertension that is caused by kidney disease or diabetes. These high blood pressure pills are especially preferred because they are taken only once a day rather than three times a day as other antihypertensive medications require.

Calcium channel blockers work mainly by dilating, or opening, small arteries that can be a major cause of hypertension. They have few side effects. An example of a calcium channel blocker is Tiazac. 

Diuretics are not only high blood pressure pills, but have other medical uses as well. Diuretics increase urinary output, thus relieving your body of excess fluid, called edema. Diuretics are used to flush your body of excess salt; the result of this medication is that they shrink the volume of circulatory blood and lowers blood-flow pressure in arteries. Diuretics can be taken along with other high blood pressure pills to reach maximum benefit.