Nowadays, high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is one of the most common medical conditions across the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), raised blood pressure affects approx 1.13 billion people worldwide. People with blood pressure are at risk for serious complications like stroke, heart or kidney failure, heart attack, or even death. In India, one in four deaths is due to heart disease caused by blood pressure.

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If you have high blood pressure or heart disease (like coronary artery disease or a history of stroke, heart failure, or heart attack), some over-the-counter (OTC) medicines can be problematic, raising your blood pressure and causing your heart to work harder. But if you are facing problems with blood pressure then you must be worried about how safe you’re with your blood pressure medications.

What Types of Medicines Can Treat High Blood Pressure?

Mainly the doctor will recommend treatment based on the following factors;

• Medical history
• Family history
• Lifestyle

In addition to lifestyle changes such as eating a heart-healthy diet, quitting smoking, exercising regularly, and learning healthy ways to cope with stress.

Several blood pressure medications, also called antihypertensives, are available by prescription to lower the high blood pressure (HBP or hypertension). There are a variety of classes of medicines for high blood pressure and they include a number of different drugs.

Many types of medicines that treat high blood pressure are as follow;

• Diuretics
• Beta-blockers
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs)
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors)
• Calcium channel blockers
• Alpha blockers
• Centrally acting drugs

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What are the Side Effects of Blood Pressure Medicine?

Several medicines of blood pressure have side effects, some common side effects of high blood pressure medications are;

• Skin rash
• Dizziness
• Coughing
• Anxiety
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Nausea or vomiting
• Feeling tired or weak
• A headache

How Safe You’re With Your Blood Pressure Medications?

If your doctor recommends some medications of blood pressure, before taking these medications, make sure that you follow these steps:

• Tell your doctor regarding other medicines, minerals, vitamins, and supplements you take. This will help your doctor figure out what is safe for you.
• Ask your doctor what precaution you need to take before taking over-the-counter (OTC) medication such as aspirin, cold medicine, or allergy medicine.
• Some OTC medicines are not safe for people with high blood pressure.
• Find out regarding the side effects of prescribed medications that you have and what to do if you have them.
• Never stop taking your medicine or make changes in your dose without consulting to your doctor.

Conclusion:

All the above steps are beneficial if you are worried about how safe you’re with your blood pressure medications. Before taking any medicine, contact with your doctors.

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