High Blood Pressure Medicine
The different groups and how they work

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The main goal of being treated with high blood pressure drugs, or antihypertensives, should be to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure that can result from high blood pressure.

There is evidence that if your blood pressure can be dropped by 5 or 6 mmHg, the risk of stroke can be decreased by 40% and coronary heart disease by 15 to 20%. In that case your doctor should be taking into consideration, your character, the drugs` side-effects, any other medication you are taking, and the cost.

There is however, a service where doctors do have the time. They are on call 24/7 for a small fee, and have as much time as you need. See my alternative health practitioners page.

(Click and read the disclaimer at the foot of this page.)

Antiadrenergics –

(Adrenergic receptor antagonists)

Beta Blockers -

Doctors are more likely to choose this high blood pressure medicine for Asthmatics, those with nervousness or tremour, or those who have already had a heart attack. (The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in the United Kingdom downgraded the use of beta-blockers in their new guidelines on antihypertensive or high blood pressure drugs in June 2006. It is now thought that they present a risk of Type 2 Diabetes.). Another symptom they can create in which they come second in line to Thaizides is impotency. :

Atenolol
(less effective in lowering blood pressure)
Metoprolol
Nadolol
Oxprenolol
Pindolol
Propranolol
Timolol

Alpha blockers - Doctors may prescribe this kind of high blood pressure medicine to those who are suffering from of benign prostatic hyperplasia, which means an enlargement of the prostate gland, impeding the flow or urine, but they are not longer used as an initial treatment for high blood pressure:

Doxazosin
Indoramin
Phentolamine
Phenoxybenzamine
Prasosin
Terazosin
Tolazoline

Alpha and Beta blockers that are mixed:

Bucindolol
Carvedilol
Labetalol

Calcium channel blockers -

When calcium enters the muscle cells of the heart, it causes it to contract and the artery walls then narrow. Calcium channel blockers, a common high blood pressure medicine, work by blocking calcium from entering receptors so that artery walls dilate or open wider:

Diltiazem
Verapamil

Dihydropyridines – Another group of Calcium channel blockers:

Amlodipine
Felodipine
Isradipine
Nifedipine
Nimodipine
Nitrendipine

ACE inhibitors - A chemical called Angiotensin II causes the muscles of blood vessels to contract, restricting blood flow and raising the pressure (hypertension). An active enzyme called ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) is needed to produce this chemical Angiotensin II from Angiotensin I, so to slow down its` production so that blood vessels can dilate, doctors will prescribe a high blood pressure medicine called an ACE inhibitor:

Captopril
Enalapril
Fosinopril
Lisinopril
Perindopril
Quinapril
Ramipril
Trandopril
Benzapril

If drugs are making you feel ill with troublesome side effects, you may perhaps wish to try the natural way to help control your blood pressure.

Have a discussion with your doctor and ask him to support your decision to try an alternative therapy.

You will discover there are safe alternatives that you can adopt as you gradually come off your prescribed drugs or at least reduce them.

Angiotensin II receptor antagonists -

A high blood pressure medicine group which also work by slowing down the production of the chemical angiotensin II. Benicar HCT is an example.

These drugs are sometimes prescribed if a patient is trouble by a cough resulting from using ACE inhibitors:

Candesartan
Irbesartan
Losartan
Olmesartan
Telmisartan
Valsartan

Diuretics

Aldosterone antagonists - Diuretics, are a commonly prescribed, high blood pressure medicine. They block receptors in the heart, kidneys, brain, and blood vessels that receive Aldosterone. This causes frequent urination and sweating which rids the body of more salt and water than usual, lowering blood volume, which in turns lowers blood pressure. They are not recommended anymore as first-line high blood pressure drugs:

Spironolactone

Thiazides - One of the first diuretics that a doctor may prescribe are Thiazides. This group of medicines are leading in producing impotency, one of the side effects on users:

Chlorthalidone (Hygroton)
Chlorothiazide (Diuril)
Hydrochlorothiazide (Esidrix)
Triamterene (Maxzide)

Centrally acting adrenergic drugs -

Alpha-receptors in the central part of the brain are stimulated by these high blood pressure drugs, causing arteries to open wider, which lowers blood pressure. This kind of high blood pressure medicine is only used as a last resort when all other antihypertensive drugs have failed:

Clonidine
Guanabenz
Methyldopa

Adrenergic neuron blockers -

Guanethidine
Reserpine

DrugWatch nutritional deficiencies database

Read about Low Dose Aspirin, a drug used to thin the blood

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