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HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATION - DANGERS POSED BY SELF-MEDICATION

By Tess Thompson

Mild hypertension is better treated by natural remedies for high blood pressure like a change in diet. Changing over from fat-rich commercial foods to home cooked food, which you can control according to guidelines of a natural diet, can help significantly in controlling blood pressure. Drugs are needed only when these changes do not produce any results.

On the face of it we tend to believe that the medicine that worked well the last time will suffice for similar symptoms. This is not the case at all. Self medication for any disorder, including high blood pressure, is a dangerous practice.

It would do you good to see what goes on in your doctor’s mind when he is going about the physical examination and your blood or imaging reports.

* Tolerance – some of the drugs have side effects that may be difficult for you to tolerate. These side effects of blood pressure medications include fatigue, impotence and headaches. The doctor has to ascertain whether you will be able to bear with them or not. Some of them can produce symptoms that may be more difficult to manage than high blood pressure.

* Compliance - some medications are fairly complicated and require strict adherence to schedules and dosages. Busy people usually find it difficult to stick to the instructions. The doctor will see if there is an available option so that the desired results can be obtained. It should be remembered that certain medications fail to work if not taken in prescribed dose and for the recommended period.

* Cost Factor - if you do not have the wherewithal to pay for expensive drugs, the doctor will choose one from among that are affordable.

* Drug interaction - if you are taking multiple medicines, there is a chance of some of the high blood pressure medications interacting with the medicines that you are already taking.

Moreover, with an increasing number of people suffering from high blood pressure, there has been a lot of research in the field of high blood pressure medications. Apart from the usual diuretics, beta and calcium blockers and ACE inhibitors, newer drugs are under the process of development. It is only your doctor who will get to know first which of the newer drugs hit the market after the studies are completed. Newer drugs that are in different stages of development are:

Dual Metallo-protease Inhibitors to facilitate vasodilation and inhibit vasoconstriction and Endothelium inhibitors, to prevent powerful vessel constrictors from getting into the muscles of blood vessels, Natriuretic Peptide Clearance Inhibitors, that ensures that the natural compounds that fight high blood pressure remain in the body.

Vasopressin Antagonists, for curbing production of vasopressin, the hormone that reduces urine flow by affecting re-absorption of water by kidney tubules.

In a vast majority of patients the exact cause of hypertension or high blood pressure is not known. Studies are on to identify genes that may be responsible for triggering primary hypertension. Along with new drugs the studies are also targeting the cost factor.

Reference:
http://www.blood-pressure-treatment.org/choosing-right-medication.html