Blood Pressure Treatments: Examples Of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
If you just recently found out that you have hypertension, you are definitely curious about high blood pressure treatments. Is using anti-hypertensive drugs the only way in treating hypertension? Learn the answer to that question by reading this article.
Hypertension or high blood pressure is often treated with anti-hypertensive drugs. And if you happen to be suffering from high blood pressure, chances are your doctor has already prescribed these drugs to you. The efficacy of these drugs in effectively reducing high blood pressure is backed up years of scientific studies. And to this day, pharmacies worldwide carry so many different forms of anti-hypertensive drugs.
With regards to high blood pressure, diuretics are the first-line of treatment. These anti-hypertensive medicines work by making you urinate frequently. By urination, your body is able to flush out the excess salt and water. Remember that if extra water and salt stay in your body, these can definitely increase the blood pressure. Furthermore, certain side effects come with the use of diuretics and examples of these are abnormal heart rate, blurred vision, skin rash, extreme tiredness, dizziness, dehydration, muscle cramps, and others.
Another type of anti-hypertensive medicine that your doctor may prescribe is angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. ACE inhibitors, or angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, can reduce blood pressure since these cause dilation of the blood vessels and increased blood flow. Some examples of ACE inhibitors include enalapril, captopril, benazepril, lisinopril, fosinopril, and others. And like diuretics, ACE inhibitors also have certain adverse effects. Certain side effects come with the use of ACE inhibitors and examples of these are sore throat, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, skin rash, kidney failure, cough, and others.
Another anti-hypertensive drug that the doctor may prescribe is calcium channel blockers. Calcium channel blockers can cause widening of the blood vessels by blocking the entry of calcium into the cells of the heart and blood vessels. And just like in the two previous medicines, dilation of the blood vessels lead to decreased blood pressure and increased blood flow. Some examples of calcium channel blockers are isradipine, amlodipine, felodipine, diltiazem, nicradipine, verapamil, nifedipine, and others. Some of the side effects caused by calcium channel blockers are edema, constipation, diarrhea, skin rash, headache, fatigue, and others.
These are only a few examples of anti-hypertensive drugs which are effective in lowering high blood pressure. The biggest disadvantage of using these drugs is the different side effects that come with using them. Besides using anti-hypertensive drugs, these are still other treatments for high blood pressure that you can utilize.
Doctors also advise various lifestyle changes in the treatment of hypertension. And just like anti-hypertensive medications, scientific studies have also proven the efficacy of these lifestyle changes for hypertension treatment. Included in these different lifestyle changes are stress reduction, proper diet, regular exercise, limited salt intake, smoking cessation, limited alcohol intake, and others.
Indeed, anti-hypertensive drugs and lifestyle changes are two of the most effective high blood pressure treatments that you can use. Different scientific studies can indeed vouch for the efficacy of these two treatment methods for hypertension.
Tags: blood pressure, blood pressure treatments, Hypertension, hypertensive