Treating High Blood Pressure

by National Institute on Aging

(Page 4 of 4)

Usually, your goal is to keep your blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg (130/80 if you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease). Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80. Ask your doctor what your blood pressure goal should be.

Some people can prevent or control high blood pressure by changing to healthier habits, such as

• eating healthy foods that include fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk products
• cutting down on salt and sodium in the diet
• losing excess weight and staying at a healthy weight
• being physically active for 30 minutes each day
• limiting alcohol intake.

Sometimes these lifestyle changes will not be enough to completely control your blood pressure. In that case, it is important for you to take medicines. Medicines will control your blood pressure but they cannot cure it. You will need to take high blood pressure medicine for a long time - probably for the rest of your life.

Blood pressure medicines work in different ways to lower blood pressure. Some drugs lower blood pressure by removing extra fluid and salt from your body. Others affect blood pressure by slowing down the heartbeat, or by relaxing and widening blood vessels. Often, two or more drugs work better than one.

Here are the types of medicines used to treat high blood pressure.

Diuretics are sometimes called "water pills." They work by helping your kidneys flush excess water and salt from your body. This reduces the amount of fluid in your blood, and your blood pressure goes down. There are different types of diuretics. They are often given with other high blood pressure medicines and may be combined with another medicine in one pill.

Here are types of medicines used to treat high blood pressure.

Beta blockers cause your heart to beat more slowly and with less force. Your heart pumps less blood through the blood vessels, and your blood pressure goes down.

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors keep your body from making a hormone called angiotensin II, which normally causes blood vessels to narrow. ACE inhibitors prevent this narrowing so your blood pressure goes down.

Here are types of medicines used to treat high blood pressure.

Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBS) are newer blood pressure drugs that protect your blood vessels from angiotensin II. They make the blood vessels relax and become wider, and your blood pressure goes down.

Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) keep calcium from entering the muscle cells of your heart and blood vessels. This causes blood vessels to relax, and your blood pressure goes down.

Here are types of medicines used to treat high blood pressure.

Alpha blockers reduce nerve impulses that tighten blood vessels, allowing blood to pass more easily and causing blood pressure to go down.

Alpha-beta blockers reduce nerve impulses to blood vessels the same way alpha blockers do, but they also slow the heartbeat, as beta blockers do. As a result, blood pressure goes down.

Here are types of medicines used to treat high blood pressure.

Nervous system inhibitors relax blood vessels by controlling nerve impulses from the brain. This causes blood vessels to become wider and blood pressure to go down.

Vasodilators open blood vessels by directly relaxing the muscle in the vessel walls, causing blood pressure to go down.

If your blood pressure continues to measure 140/90 mmHg or higher (130/80 or higher if you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease) after you start taking medicine, your doctor may need to add a second drug or try you on different medicines until you find one that helps you reach your goal.

It is important that you take your blood pressure medication the same time each day. There are a few tips to make this easier to remember.

Try to link it with something else that you do regularly, like brushing your teeth.

If your doctor tells you to take your pills with food, try taking them with the same meal every day.

Tips for remembering to take your medications: Another way to remember to take your blood pressure medication is to write it down. Put a reminder note on the refrigerator, by the phone, on the medicine cabinet, or even on the bathroom mirror. Try changing the message frequently, using different colors to get your attention, or moving the notes to a different spot.

Tips for remembering to take your medications: Try keeping a chart or calendar to write down when you take your drugs. Keep this calendar posted so you can quickly see if youve taken your drugs. Use colored pens to help you keep track of more than one type of medication.

Tips for remembering to take your medications: Try using a special pillbox that helps keep your pills organized. You can buy these containers at most drugstores or pharmacies. Ask for help. Family or friends can be a great support system. Put together a team. If you have friends who also take medication, help remind each other.

Tips for remembering to take your medications: Put a favorite picture of yourself or a loved one on the refrigerator with a note that says, "Remember to Take Your High Blood Pressure Medicine." Take your high blood pressure drugs right after you brush your teeth and keep them with your toothbrush as a reminder.

Tips for remembering to take your medications: Ask a friend or relative to call your telephone answering machine to remind you to take your high blood pressure drugs and DO NOT erase the message. If you use the telephone company's voice mail service, record a reminder for yourself and the service can automatically call you every day at the same time.

Tips for remembering to take your medications: Establish a buddy system with a friend who also is on daily medication and arrange to call each other every day with a reminder to "take your medicine." Ask one or more of your children or grandchildren to call you every day with a quick reminder. It's a great way to stay in touch and little ones love to help the grown-ups.

Tips for remembering to take your medications: If you have a personal computer, program a start-up reminder to take your high blood pressure drugs or sign up with one of the free services that will send you reminder e-mail every day.

Remember to refill your prescription. Each time you pick up a refill, make a note on your calendar to order and pick up the next refill one week before the medicine is due to run out.

Quiz

1. Some people can prevent and control high blood pressure by making lifestyle changes.

TRUE is the correct answer.

Some people can prevent or control high blood pressure by changing to healthier habits, such as

• eating healthy foods that include fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk products
• cutting down on salt and sodium in the diet
• losing excess weight and staying at a healthy weight
• being physically active for 30 minutes each day
• limiting alcohol intake.

2. Once you get your blood pressure under control, you can stop taking your medicines.

FALSE is the correct answer. Medicines will control your blood pressure but they cannot cure it. You will need to take high blood pressure medicine for a long time - probably for the rest of your life.

3. You may need to take more than one medicine to get your blood pressure under control.

TRUE is the correct answer. Blood pressure medicines work in different ways to lower blood pressure. Some drugs lower blood pressure by removing extra fluid and salt from your body. Others affect blood pressure by slowing down the heartbeat, or by relaxing and widening blood vessels. Often, two or more drugs work better than one.

4. Usually the goal of treatment is to keep your blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg (130/80 if you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease).

TRUE is the correct answer. If your blood pressure still measures more than 140/90 mmHg (130/80 if you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease) after you start treatment, your doctor may need to try different medicines until you find one that enables you to reach your goal. Ask your doctor what your goal should be.

About the Author

www.nia.nih.gov
NIA, one of the 27 Institutes and Centers of NIH, leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life. In 1974, Congress granted authority to form NIA to provide leadership in aging research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs relevant to aging and older people.