Medicinal Therapy for blood pressure
Doctors usually recommend 6 months of life. style changes to see if mild to moderate hypertension returns to normal levels. If not, drug therapy is often instituted. There are dozens of anti hypertensive drugs and doctors can usually find one or a combination that lowers blood pressure with minimal adverse side effects. The most widely used drugs are diuretics, which reduce salt and fluid volume by increasing the flow of urine. Some classes of drugs reduce the heart’s workload by helping to widen, or dilate, the arterioles to increase blood flow; others regulate nerve impulses to slow the pulse.
It is also important to treat disorders that contribute to high blood pressure; these include diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol, both of which compound the risk of developing heart problems. Dietary and other lifestyle changes that lower high blood pressure also help to control diabetes and blood cholesterol levels.
