Archive for February, 2009
by Christian Goodman
Hypertension Drug Side Effects
Stroke! Heart Attack! Huh? This is what I caught while only kind of paying attention to an commercial the other night. I hit rewind to see what they were talking about. You guessed it. Potential side effects of hypertension drugs.
I regularly receive emails from people who are also desperate to avoid these side effects and others due to the medication.
Many people have provided specific names of the medications they have been prescribed which led to additional research on side effects. While this is not new information, I was rather surprised again to review just how serious the side effects can be.
140 over 90 is Typically Considered High Blood Pressure.
The problem is that it can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, strokes and weakened arteries. Other organs can also be affected such as the eyes, kidneys and brain.
High blood pressure can also lead to insomnia, erectile dysfunction and sight loss. Since the symptoms can be very subtle or even non existent, it has earned the name "silent killer."
What are the Symptoms?
Some symptoms though are noticeable by people. Blurred vision, headaches, sweating and nausea are hard to ignore. You need to actually measure your blood pressure to be sure hypertension is present.
One elevated reading does not necessarily indicate chronic high blood pressure. Regular checks are necessary.
Review of Four Types of Side Effects
You do want to be aware of possible side effects if you are prescribed medication. Four types I'll review today are ACE Inhibitors, Beta Blockers, Calcium Channel Blockers and Diuretics.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors help blood vessels relax by blocking the production of angiotensin II. Some commonly prescribed ACE inhibitors include: benazepril (Lotensin), captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril) ,quinapril (Accupril, Mavik) and ramipril (Altace).
Side affects associated with ACE inhibitors are lingering cough, headaches, chest pains and even kidney disease.
Now let's look at Beta Blockers. These drugs reduce nerve signals to the heart and blood vessels which causes the heart to beat slower reducing blood pressure. Commonly prescribed beta blockers include: acebutolol (Sectral), atenolol (Tenormin), carvedilol (Coreg), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard), penbutolol (Levatol), propranolol (Inderal) and timolol (Blocadren).
Dizziness, impotence, memory loss and fatigue can occur with beta blockers.
Calcium Channel Blockers block calcium from entering heart and blood vessel muscle cells which prevents the blood vessels from constricting and lowers blood pressure. Some of the beta blockers are amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor XR) felodipine (Plendil), nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia), and verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan).
And the side effects of these can include heartburn, difficulty swallowing, sexual dysfunction and even stroke and heart attack. These are problems the drugs are actually supposed to prevent!
And finally diuretics. The body flushes fluid and sodium which helps to lower blood pressure. Some of the common ones are hydrochlorothiazide, furoseminde and chlorthalidone.
Electrolyte imbalances, impotence, breast enlargement in men (gynecomastia), gout, menstrual irregularities, increased blood sugar, blurred vision, and fever.
It's no surprise that people either want to avoid high blood pressure medication or get off the drugs altogether. I do however urge you to exercise caution by reducing your medication slowly and with your doctor's knowledge.
My all natural High Blood Pressure Program works to eliminate the need for the drugs. You're doctor may be hesitant, but most traditional doctors are. You're proof will be in the numbers.
Introduce the program but continue to take your medication. Continue to monitor your blood pressure. As it begins to lower, see your doctor and discuss lowering your medicine. Eventually you can do this until the drugs are no longer needed.
About the Author:
Christian Goodman is recognized throughout the world for his unique solutions to many complicated and even incurable conditions. His revolutionary High Blood Pressure treatment program has helped thousands of people to lower high blood pressure naturally. Learn more about Christian and his solutions on his alternative health blog.
by Donald Saunders
High Blood Pressure is a Killer
One problem with high blood pressure today is that it is so common and so often talked about that a lot of people do not afford it the respect it deserves. The simple fact is that high blood pressure, or hypertension (to give it its medical name), is a killer and needs to be treated as such.
A lot of doctors and researchers have spent considerable time, money and effort attempting to describe precisely what a true definition of high blood pressure is.
Over the years there have been numerous human population studies performed on this topic which have given the doctors and scientists a very wide range of blood pressure values to work with. However the results are frequently skewed and vary from country to country and even from district to district within a particular country. Thus, it has been agreed that the definition of high blood pressure can only be arrived at as a result of constant observation and experimentation.
Normal Blood Pressure
Normal blood pressure is seen today much like normal body weight in that the defining level is that which is associated with the greatest projected life expectancy. This is the pressure at which the heart and other important elements of the body like the circulatory system can function under optimum conditions without the risk of heart disease and other associated conditions.
The Difference Between Systolic and Diastolic
Of course there are a number of other considerations to be taken into account when defining high blood pressure and some of these have to be excluded. For example, If a healthy person gets then their systolic (or pumping) blood pressure will rise by perhaps as much as fifty percent because their blood flow increases in response to extreme emotional excitement or energetic activity. But it will not remain high for very long and once the level of excitement subsides your blood pressure also returns to normal.
In addition to a systolic (pumping) pressure you also have a diastolic (resting) pressure which is the more important of the two and is an excellent guide in ascertaining whether a high reading is a false positive. The reason why the diastolic pressure is important is because it reveals the state of your arteries and a high reading may mean that the arteries are constricted and not allowing the free flow of blood.
It is very important to know that high blood pressure is not in itself a disease but is a key criterion by which doctors can diagnose other conditions.
Finally, it is also necessary to realize that high blood pressure cannot be cured but that it can be very effectively controlled.
About the Author:
TheBloodPressureCenter.com provides information on many different aspects of blood pressure including natural remedies for high blood pressure and finding the best automatic blood pressure monitors
