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High blood pressure is one disease that calls
for steady lifestyle changes along with regular medication to cure. If
you or any of your loved ones are suffering from hypertension, you must
take note of the common medicines prescribed for the treatment.
Have a glance here:
Diuretics:
Diuretics
have been the mainstays of anti-hypertensive therapies for many years.
Diuretics are especially helpful for treating the elderly and
African-American patients.
These protect against stroke and blood
clots. These are inexpensive and available easily with a number of
brands producing them.
Diuretics are basically, of three primary
types, namely:
1) Thiazides
2) Loop diuretics and
3) Potassium sparing agents
Beta-Blockers:
Beta-blockers affect the
force and frequency of heartbeats. They slow certain metabolic
processes, and ease the workload of the heart. These are available in
many brands including acebutolol (Sectral), atenolol (Tenormin),
betaxolol (Kerlone), metoprolol (Lopressor), nadolol (Corgard),
penbutolol (Levatol), pindolol (Visken), and carvedilol (Coreg).
Angiotensin
Converting Enzyme Inhibitors:
Basically, Angiotensin Converting
Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors block the effects of the
angiotensin-renin-aldosterone system. Though they work wonders for
patients with diabetes, they are quite expensive. They also improve the
function of the heart and lung muscle. Some ACE brands include enalapril
(Vasotec), quinapril (Accupril), benazepril (Lotensin), ramipril
(Altace, Tritace), and perindopril (Aceon, Coversyl).
Calcium-Channel
Blockers (CCBs):
Calcium antagonists reduce the blood pressure
then and there. But, they are expensive. They have their own
side-effects. And they are not as effective as diuretics in preventing
heart failure. Some of the CCB brands are diltiazem (Cardizem, Tiazac),
amlodipine (Norvasc), felodipine (Plendil), isradipine (DynaCirc),
verapamil (Calan, Isoptin, Verelan, Verelan PM, Covera-HS), and
nisoldipine (Sular).
Angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs):
These
are also called Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists. ARBs too have side
effects such as cough, headaches, dizziness, nasal congestion, elevated
potassium blood levels, and abnormal kidney functions.
It is believed that these may improve sexual function in men.
These drugs are very expensive. ARB brands include olmesartan (Benicar)
candesartan (Atacand), telmisartan (Micardis), eprosartan (Teveten), and
irbesartan (Avapro, Aprovel, Karvea).
Alpha Blockers:
Alpha blockers widen arterioles and veins and thus
reduce blood pressure.
Vasodilators:
Vasodilators are
often used in combination with a diuretic or a beta-blocker. They are
almost never used alone. Some of the popular brands include hydralazine
(Apresoline), clonidine (Catapres), and minoxidil (Loniten).
Apart
from all these, other medicines such as, Aldosterone Blockers, Neutral
Endopeptidase Inhibitors (NEPs) and Statins to treat hypertension are
also recommended.
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