Extend Your Healthy Life With Blood Pressure Medications

By Author: Rob Thomas
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Hypertension is a illness which exists when your blood vessels narrow. This narrowing usually causes your systolic pressure reading 120 to 139 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or a bottom number on a blood pressure machine read reading from 80 to 89 mm Hg.
There are many medications available for people suffering from high blood pressure. 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 you doctor may prescribe is a Thiazide diuretic. This type is said to have fewer side effects than the other types of diuretics. In some cases a diuretic might be the only medication you need, but in other situations the doctor might see the need 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 production 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 help in the widening 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 thus lowering the blood pressure. Some common Beta blockers are metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard) and penbutolol (Levatol).
Calcium Channel Blockers stop calcium from going into heart and blood vessel muscle cells, therefore 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 high blood pressure to change their life style. These changes include no smoking for smokers, eating plenty fruits and vegetables, reducing calcium intake and exercising for at least 30 minutes per day.
About Author:
Rob Thomas writes about Blood Pressure Medications and recommends the Cardiac Diet.