Dr. Jou's Clinic for Hypertension

The good things from the prescription medications cover that they can lower the blood pressure in a short time. On the flip side, actually they have been used to patients without regard to conditions that cause the high blood pressure. It means that thay force down the blood pressure value without solving basical problems that raises up the blood pressure.

The medication's activity pulling down the blood pressure is by interfering with the body's normal mechanisms of regulating the blood pressure. This is why patients have to rely on medications for the rest of their lves.

Medication Treatments

◆ Blood pressure lowering drugs are devided mainly into three categories as diuretics, adrenergics and vasodilators depending on their actions. and each category has a bout of drugs that work similar way.

◆ Diuretics(water pills) stimulate the kidneys to excrete more salt and fluid. This reduces blood pressure by decreasing the blood volume and pressures against the "pipes". However, it leaves the problem that magnesium and potassium may be lost at the same time, a potensially unfavorable condition for the body, including heart muscles, kidneys and level of cholesterol and blood lipids.

◆ Adrenergic drugs usually works by binding to and suppressing the beta adrenergic receptors, or taking down the nerve transmission of central nerve system, or interfereing with the signals sent via sympathetic nerve system to intensify the heartbeat. Beta blockers may carry the potencial hazard of further depressing the myocardial contractility and precipitating heart failure. Because alpha blockers inhibit the natural blood pressure regulating mechanism, they may cause cause headache, light-headedness, dizziness, weakness and erectile dysfunction.

◆ Vasodilators include calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors(angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors) and angiotensin Ⅱ receptor blockers, which causes arteries to widen, thus decreasing pressures against arterial walls. There are possibilities that they may cause from mild to severe side effects such as dry cough, swelling in the low extremities, headache, cardiovascular dysfuction, elevated cholesterol level, erectile and cognitive dysfunction and even depression and psychological disorders.

◆ cons and pros of prescription drugs

Prescription drugs have the advantage of lowering blood pressure to a level near the normal range 120/80mmHg to 130/85mmHg in a relatively shorter period of time. However, also to be remembered should be the disadvantages that they don't restore the fundamental problems that lead to high blood pressure, whereas they may leave mild or serious side effects, mental or physical. Furthermore, many researchers also raised the problem that they merely reduce rather than completely prevent the occurrence rate of a series of hypertension related complications.

분 류			성 분	나타날 수 있는 부작용
Diuretics			Hydrochlorothiazide Furosemide Spironolactone	hypokaluminia, hyperacidosis, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia), erectile dysfuction
ad re ne rg ic bl oc ke rs	α-blockers		Doxazosin Prazosin	dizziness, palpitation impotence
	β-blockers		Atenolol Acebutolol Propranolol Bevantolol	dizziness, nausea, brinchial contraction, constipation heart failure hypercholesterolemia
	adrenergic blockers		Clonidine	liver impairment hymolitic anemia thirst impotence abrupt elevation of blood pressure on cessation
va so di la to rs	ACE-inhibitors		Enalapril Temocapril	dry cough jyperkaliumenia kidney impairmentheadache psychological disorders
	ARB blockers		Losartan
	Calcium channel blockers	1세대	Nifedipine	rash headache hypokalumenia swelling in the lower extremities constipation myocardial infarctioncancer-causing effect
		2세대	Amlodipine
		3세대	Lercanidipine