About this website 

This website aims to provide information about the drugs that can be taken to control hypertension. Details are given of the most common drugs taken and also a number of less common alternatives are outlined. 

Hypertension - the facts

Hypertension is high blood pressure and it is diagnosed in people who consistently have a blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg.

There are two main classes of hypertension:

  • Essential hypertension - idiopathic in that there is no definitive cause but it is often linked to a number of known risk factors e.g. obesity, high alcohol intake, stress. 95% of high blood pressure patients have essential hypertension.

  • Secondary hypertension - occurs as a consequence of a clinical condition e.g. renal disease, endocrine abnormalities. It affects 10% of patients suffering with hypertension.

     

Hypertension is thought to affect 1 in 3 adults in England. The incidence increases with age with over half of people aged over 65 having high blood pressure. It is important to get blood pressure checked on a regular basis as there are no obvious signs and symptoms of hypertension. 18% of men and 13% of women are thought to have high blood pressure but are not getting treatment for it.  

Dangers of hypertension

Hypertensive retinopathy shown by fluorescein angiographyHypertension itself doesn’t often present with any symptoms, however it causes the heart and arteries to work harder in order to pump blood against a raised pressure. This puts sufferers at an increased risk of a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, damage to the eyes (e.g. hypertensive retinopathy), congestive heart failure and atherosclerosis (narrowing of the blood vessel due to obstruction, thrombus).

Hypertension is a ‘silent killer’. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) it kills up to 5 million people worldwide. It is therefore a common condition with potentially devastating effects and people need to be aware of the treatments available in order to keep it under control.

 

Lifestyle Changes

Despite all the drugs available,lifestyle changes are often thought to be the best resort for treatment of hypertension. There are many changes that you can do to improve your blood pressure without taking drugs, these include:

  • Low fat diet, with plenty of vitamins and minerals
  • Low salt diet - minimise the intake whenever you can
  • Eat potassium rich foods- bananas, green leafy vegetable and potatos
  • Stop smoking
  • Reduce alcohol intake
  • Keep Active