Blood Pressure Medications

Hypertension is a condition which exists when your blood vessels narrow. This narrowing usually leads to your top number on the blood pressure machine reading 120 to 139 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or a diastolic pressure read reading from 80 to 89 mm Hg.
There are many blood pressure medications available for people with Hypertension. They are usually called antihypertensives. A doctor may prescribe one or more antihypertensives depending on how high or low the blood pressure is. One of the first medication a doctor may prescribe is Thiazide diuretics. This type is said to have less side effects than the other types of diuretics. In some cases a diuretic might be the only high blood pressure medication you might need but in some situations the doctor might find it necessary to add another medication. Some of the medication that can be taken along with diuretics are: Angiotensin - converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. They help to relax blood vessels by blocking the creation of a hormone that causes blood vessels to narrow. Some commonly prescribed ACE inhibitors are captopril (Capoten), Lisinopril (Prinvil, Zestril), and ramipril ( Altace).
Angiotensin II receptor blockers assist in the opening of the blood vessels by preventing a hormone known as angiotensin from affecting vessels. Commonlyprescribed angiotensins include losartan (Cozaar), oimesartan (Benicar) and vaisartan (Diovan).
Beta Blockers have the ability to reduce nerve signals to the heart and blood vessels which results in lowering the blood pressure. Some common Beta blockers are metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard) and penbutolol (Levatol).
Calcium Channel Blockers prevent calcium from entering into heart and blood vessel muscle cells, thus causing the cells to relax and subsequently lowering the blood pressure. Commonly prescribed Calcium Channel Blockers includeamlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem, (Cardizem, Dilacor, XR), and nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia).
Doctors advise patients with hypertension to change their way of life. These changes include no smoking for smokers, eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, controlling calcium intake and exercising for at least 30 minutes per day.Please visit these sites for more information on Blood Pressure Medicationsand Treatment for High Blood Pressure.