Blood Pressure Medicines

Summary

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is when blood puts too much pressure against the walls of your arteries. About 1 in 3 adults have high blood pressure, usually with no symptoms. But it can cause serious problems such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack, and kidney disease.

What lifestyle changes can help lower high blood pressure?

Healthy lifestyle changes can help reduce high blood pressure:

• Losing weight
• Being physically active
• Managing stress
• Reducing sodium in your diet
• Avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs
• Getting enough sleep

What if lifestyle changes alone cannot lower blood pressure?

Sometimes lifestyle changes alone cannot control or lower your high blood pressure. In that case, your health care provider may prescribe blood pressure medicines.

How do blood pressure medicines work?

Blood pressure medicines work in different ways to lower blood pressure:

• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) keep your blood vessels from narrowing as much
• Calcium channel blockers prevent calcium from entering the muscle cells of your heart and blood vessels. This allows the blood vessels to relax.
• Diuretics remove extra water and sodium (salt) from your body. This lowers the amount of fluid in your blood. Diuretics are often used with other high blood pressure medicines, sometimes in one combined pill.
• Beta blockers help your heart beat slower and with less force. This means that your heart pumps less blood through your blood vessels. Beta blockers are typically used only as a backup option or if you also have certain other conditions.

Often, two or more medicines work better than one. While taking the medicines, it is still important to keep up with your healthy lifestyle changes.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Patient Handouts

• ACE inhibitors Medical Encyclopedia
• High blood pressure medications Medical Encyclopedia

Specifics

• Alpha Blockers Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Beta Blockers Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Calcium Channel Blockers Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Central-Acting Agents Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Diuretics Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Types of Blood Pressure Medications American Heart Association
• Vasodilators Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Find an Expert

• American Heart Association American Heart Association
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Encyclopedia

• Beta-blockers overdose Medical Encyclopedia
• Calcium-channel blocker overdose Medical Encyclopedia
• Thiazide overdose Medical Encyclopedia

Related Issues

• Blood Pressure Medications: Can They Raise My Triglycerides? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Calcium Supplements: Do They Interfere with Blood Pressure Drugs? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Can Beta Blockers Cause Weight Gain? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Can Diuretics Decrease Your Potassium Level? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Can Weight Loss Reduce the Need for Blood Pressure Medication? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Choosing Blood Pressure Medications Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Diuretics and Gout: What’s the Connection? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Herbal Supplements and Heart Medicines May Not Mix Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• How Do Beta Blocker Drugs Affect Exercise? American Heart Association
• Managing High Blood Pressure Medications American Heart Association

Statistics and Research

• CDC Vital Signs: Blood Pressure Control — Helping Patients Take Their Medicine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Antihypertensive Agents National Institutes of Health

Start Here

• High Blood Pressure — Medicines to Help You Food and Drug Administration
• High Blood Pressure Medicines Food and Drug Administration
• What Is High Blood Pressure Medicine? American Heart Association
• What You Should Know about High Blood Pressure and Medications American Heart Association

Genetics

• Hypertension: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine

Journal Articles

• Blood Pressure Medicines