Patient education: Medicines for high blood pressure (The Basics)

Why do I need medicines to treat high blood pressure? — 

Having high blood pressure puts you at risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney damage, and other serious problems. The medicines your doctor prescribes to treat high blood pressure can help lower the risk of these problems and even help you live longer.

It's very important to take your blood pressure medicines every day as instructed. High blood pressure doesn't usually cause symptoms, so people sometimes don't take it seriously. Also, blood pressure medicines can cause side effects and be expensive, so it's easy to understand why people don't like to take them. But if you are tempted to skip your medicines, remember, they can save your life!

If your medicines cause unpleasant side effects, or if you can't afford your medicines, talk to your doctor or nurse. There are often ways to deal with these problems. The first step is to tell your doctor or nurse.

Which medicines might I need? — 

There are lots of different medicines to treat high blood pressure. Some of them have other health benefits besides lowering blood pressure.

Your doctor or nurse will decide which medicine is best for you. This depends on:

●How high your blood pressure is

●Your other health problems, if you have any

●How well you do on the medicines you try

●If you are pregnant or plan to get pregnant

Your doctor or nurse might need to change your medicine or its dose a few times. The goal is to find the medicine and dose that work best and cause the fewest side effects.

You might need to take more than 1 medicine to get your blood pressure under control. Whatever your doctor or nurse prescribes, take your medicines exactly as prescribed (table 1). But always tell your doctor or nurse if you have any problems with the medicines. That way, they can make changes so you are as comfortable as possible and also get the most benefit.

Never stop or change how you take your medicines without talking to your doctor or nurse first.

The most common types of medicines to treat high blood pressure are:

●Diuretics

●ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers ("ARBs")

●Calcium channel blockers

●Beta blockers

This article only has only basic information about these medicines. For more detailed information about your medicines, ask your doctor or nurse for the patient drug information handout from UpToDate. It explains how to use each medicine, describes its possible side effects, and lists other medicines or foods that can affect how it works.

Diuretics — 

These are sometimes called "water pills," because they make you urinate more than usual. Some examples include chlorthalidone, indapamide, hydrochlorothiazide ("HCTZ"), and furosemide (brand name: Lasix).

ACE inhibitors and ARBs — 

These are often grouped together, because they work in similar ways. They can help slow or prevent kidney disease in some people. They also help people with heart failure live longer.

●Some examples of ACE inhibitors include enalapril, captopril, and lisinopril.

●Some examples of ARBs include candesartan (brand name: Atacand) and valsartan (brand name: Diovan).

Calcium channel blockers — 

Examples include amlodipine (brand name: Norvasc), felodipine (brand name: Plendil), and diltiazem (brand name: Cardizem). Calcium channel blockers also help prevent chest pain caused by heart disease.

Beta blockers — 

Besides lowering blood pressure, beta blockers help reduce how much work the heart has to do. Studies show people who take a beta blocker after a heart attack are less likely to have another heart attack or die than people who don't take a beta blocker. Studies also show people with heart failure who take beta blockers live longer than people with heart failure who don't.

When people first start taking beta blockers, they sometimes feel tired. This is just while the body gets used to the medicine and usually goes away. If your doctor prescribes a beta blocker, give it a little time to start working.

Some examples of beta blockers include atenolol (brand name: Tenormin), metoprolol (brand names: Lopressor, Toprol-XL), and carvedilol (brand name: Coreg).

Should I avoid any medicines? — 

Some medicines can "interact" with other medicines. Taking certain medicines can change how your blood pressure medicines work or make them work less well.

Your doctor or nurse will talk to you about whether you need to avoid certain prescription or over-the-counter medicines, herbs, or supplements. If you have any questions about whether it is safe to take a medicine, ask your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.

More on this topic

Patient education: High blood pressure in adults (The Basics)
Patient education: High blood pressure and pregnancy (The Basics)
Patient education: High blood pressure in children (The Basics)
Patient education: Blood pressure measurement (The Basics)
Patient education: Checking your blood pressure at home (The Basics)
Patient education: Understanding your risk of high blood pressure (The Basics)
Patient education: Why taking your medicine as prescribed is important (The Basics)
Patient education: Side effects from medicines (The Basics)
Patient education: Angioedema caused by ACE inhibitor medicines (The Basics)
Patient education: Coping with high drug prices (The Basics)
Patient education: Medicines after a heart attack (The Basics)
Patient education: Medicines for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (The Basics)
Patient education: Medicines after an ischemic stroke (The Basics)
Patient education: Medicines for chronic kidney disease (The Basics)

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