High blood pressure treatment
High blood pressure treatment
There are several methods and approaches to treat a case of high blood pressure. Choosing the right medication depends on several factors. The individual status of every case determines the drug of choice immensely because the response of every patient differs from one person to another. The doctor often try a medication for two weeks and measure the blood pressure again, if the desired response was not achieved he tries another one. The percentage of rise in your blood pressure also determines the group of medications to choose from.
There are several groups of high blood pressure medications and drugs and every group has its own benefits, your doctor will choose the proper drug suitable for your case.
Diuretics are the first line of treatment; they are simply working on the fact that sodium causes your blood vessels and heart to contract rapidly so they manage to get rid of excess water of the body because water is the main carrier of sodium.
If your blood pressure did not respond to diuretics, your doctor will try ACE inhibitors. This group is more concerned with the capacity of your blood vessels. It manages to widen the blood vessels by preventing the formation of angiotensin enzyme that causes your blood vessels to contract. The angiotensin antagonist group of drugs works according to the same theory but it acts by blocking the angiotensin from reaching the blood vessel.
Beta – blocker group is a very popular treatment of high blood pressure because it enjoys a higher level of response in hypertension patients. It works by blocking the beta receptors on the muscle fibers of heart causing it to contract in a lower rate than usual; lowering the heart rate beat will lower the blood pressure.
Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) work with a different way but to reach the same result as the beta blockers. It blocks the calcium channels in the heart muscle fibers to lower the heart rate.
While beta blocker are considered popular, alpha – beta blocker group is becoming more popular now. The main mode of action of this group is that it works on two different axis. It lowers the heart rate with the effect of the beta receptor blocker in it and it widens the blood vessels through the alpha receptor blockers.
Vasodilator drugs act directly on the blood vessels causing an increase in the capacity of these vessels leading to a direct decrease in the blood pressure of the case.