Hypertension Treatment

Hypertension treatment can help prevent serious — even life-threatening — complications. Your doctor also may suggest steps to control conditions that can contribute to high blood pressure, such as diabetes and high cholesterol.

Blood pressure goals aren't the same for everyone. Although everyone should strive for blood pressure readings below 140/90, doctors recommend lower readings for people with certain conditions. The goal is 130/80 if you have or have had chronic kidney disease or diabetes.

The goal of hypertension treatment is to reduce blood pressure to a level where there is decreased risk of complications. Most of the treatment involves is with the use of hypertension medication.  Hypertension treatment may occur at home with close supervision by the health care provider, or may occur in the hospital.

The major types of hypertension medication in hypertension treatment includes:

• Diuretics
• Beta Blockers
• Calcium Blockers
• Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme(ACE) Inhibitors
• Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs
• Renin Inhibitors

If you're having trouble reaching your blood pressure goal with combinations of the above medications, your doctor may prescribe:

• Alpha Blockers
• Alpha-beta Blockers
• Central-Acting Agents
• Vasodilators

Medications such as hydralazine, minoxidil, diazoxide, or nitroprusside may be required if the blood pressure is very high.  Treating high blood pressure can help prevent serious — even life-threatening — complications. Your doctor also may suggest steps to control conditions that can contribute to high blood pressure, such as diabetes and high cholesterol.

Blood pressure goals aren't the same for everyone. Although everyone should strive for blood pressure readings below 140/90, doctors recommend lower readings for people with certain conditions. The goal is 130/80 if you have or have had chronic kidney disease or diabetes.

Changing your lifestyle can go a long way toward controlling high blood pressure. But sometimes lifestyle changes aren't enough. In addition to diet and exercise, your doctor may recommend medication to lower your blood pressure. Which category of medication your doctor prescribes depends on your stage of high blood pressure and whether you also have other medical conditions. To reduce the number of doses you need a day, which can reduce side effects, your doctor may prescribe a combination of low-dose medications rather than larger doses of one single drug. In fact, two or more blood pressure drugs often work better than one. Sometimes finding the most effective medication — or combination of drugs — is a matter of trial and error.

Once your blood pressure is under control, your doctor may add aspirin to your regimen to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disorders.

Resistant hypertension - Stubborn High Blood Pressure
If your blood pressure has remained stubbornly high despite taking at least three medications from different classes of antihypertensive drugs, one of which is a diuretic, you may have resistant hypertension — blood pressure that is resistant to treatment.

This doesn't mean your blood pressure will never get lower. In fact, if you and your doctor can identify what's behind your persistently high blood pressure, there's a good chance you can meet your goal with the help of treatment that's more effective. You may need to see a hypertension specialist if your primary care doctor isn't able to pinpoint a cause.

Your doctor or hypertension specialist can evaluate whether the medications and doses you're taking for your high blood pressure are appropriate. You may have to fine-tune your medications to come up with the most effective combination and doses.

If you don't strictly follow the prescribed medication regimen, your blood pressure can pay the price. If you skip doses because you can't afford the medication, because you have disagreeable side effects or because you simply forget to take your medications, talk to your doctor about solutions. Don't alter your treatment without your doctor's guidance.

In addition, you and your doctor can review medications you're taking for other conditions. Those or other substances or foods can worsen high blood pressure or prevent your medications from working effectively. Be open and honest with your doctor about all the medications, substances, supplements and products you take. Underlying causes of resistant hypertension should also be considered such as sleep apnea and kidney or hormonal abnormalities.

The good news is there are endless medical trials and studies for hypertension are still being conducted.  Here are some of the few actual Clinical Trials for further Hypertension Treatment:

•  Clinical study of women with hypertension who become pregnant

•   Effectiveness of DASH Diet at Reducing Hypertension

•   Treatment of Supine Hypertension in Autonomic Failure

•   Treatment of Insulin Resistance in Hypertensive, Obese Adolescents

•   High Blood Pressure Strategy (HBPS)

•   Behavioural Treatment of Hypertension

•   Simvastatin as a Treatment for Pulmonary Hypertension

•   Protein Supplements to Treat Hypertension

•   Blood Pressure Lowering Effects of Grape Juice

•   Treatment of Supine Hypertension in Autonomic Failure

•   Breathe: Slow Paced Breathing to Lower Blood Pressure -  There is already a device on the market that proves to this!
  

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