There have been tremendous improvements in the way Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure and other cardiovascular conditions are being treated nowadays and this is by and large down to the wide variety of medicines on offer.

We have long moved on from the “one size fits all” society and Doctors realise what works for one man might not work as well for the next man. The treatment for Heart Disease and High Blood Pressure has moved from being the “death sentence” it once was to taking on much more of a preventative approach to these conditions.

Though it may seem that there are a great many drugs in use to treat High Blood Pressure and Heart Disease, the actual fact is they all belong to a few main categories of drugs. The drugs within each category may appear to the initiated as similar but you can be assured that the minor variations are extremely important when it comes to treating different people.

One single Drug may have several different names, the first of which is its official name the generic name. After that we are into the realms of the free market economy with the same drug being marketed and sold under one or more brand names the proprietary name.

Every now and then you will get two drugs within the same delivery mechanism i.e. tablet and in this case there will be just one single name.

The drugs now in use are effective because they are so powerful and precise. You really do have to know what it is exactly that you are taking, why you are taking it, how to take it and what effects it will have on you.

The main categories of Drugs used to treat Heart Disease; High Blood Pressure etc are as follows:

ACE Inhibitors and Angiotensin II antagonists

Anti-Arrhythmic drugs

Anti coagulants

Aspirin (and other anti platelets drugs

Beta-Blockers

Calcium Channel Blockers (Calcium antagonists)

Cholesterol (lipid)-lowering drugs

Diuretics

Nitrates

Potassium channel activators

Thrombolytic drugs (Clot busters).

There are other minor drugs used in the general treatment of High Blood Pressure but the above selections are the main types of medicine in use today.

Originally posted 2009-12-17 12:33:39. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Related posts:

1. High Blood Pressure And Salt Is It Essential
2. An Introduction to Treatment for High Blood Pressure
3. High Blood Pressure, an Introduction to Treatment Options

The rationale behind this that Doctors felt that the adverse side effects of the medication used at the time would possibly be of more danger to the patient than the high blood pressure readings.

Times have changed however and this line of thinking is no longer in use. Both of the above perceptions relating to the danger of the side effects and the mild nature of the blood pressure readings have lead to the discontinuance of this practice.

Recent research has firmly established the value of treating ?stage 1 Hypertension? (a reading of between 140/90 ? 159/99 Hg) with medication if necessary. It is now also considered prudent to treat patients who also suffer from Diabetes and High Blood Pressure if their readings are as low as 130/80 Hg. The sensitivity of medication nowadays is such that blood pressure levels can be controlled with much lower dosages meaning that the danger of side effects can also be reduced.

There has never been a greater variety of medication for High Blood Pressure available to Doctors from which to choose. These ?antihypertensive drugs? also include many types of medication where there is a combination of several different types of drug. The newer types of medication quite often have a different chemical makeup and structure compared to the older ones but quite often produce nearly identical effects on the human body.

The range and sophistication of medication is such now that Doctors can produce care plans and treatment programmes tailored to the individual patient and in most cases prescribe medication that have little or minimal side effect to the patient and protect against possible further complications down the line.

On of the most important aspects of where treatment differs nowadays is that Doctors can quite possibly provide one single course of medication that can treat conditions like Hypertension and accompanying medical problems like congestive Heart Failure.

The generally accepted initial approach to Hypertension Treatment nowadays is to start slow & low and then build gradually where possible gradually increasing the dosage of the medicine prescribed until the blood pressure level sinks to a normal level. If this is not shown to work or causes troublesome side effects then a wide number of replacement medications are available for use.

The presently accepted course of treatment for Stage 1 Hypertension is to start with one drug and add a second if the blood pressure reading does not respond or decrease to normal levels. The target levels here are 140/90 Hg. For those with diabetes or chronic kidney disease then the ideal targets are reduced to 130/80 Hg. For ?Stage 2 Hypertension? (the old levels of conventional High Blood Pressure) then the accepted treatment programme is to start with at least 2 drugs. Again if the response to this is not within an acceptable timeframe then the introduction of a third drug may occur.

Just when you think that Hypertension can be controlled with purely medication. There is a marked improvement to all of these programmes when the medication is accompanied by the introduction and implementation of lifestyle changes such as a well balanced diet, reduction in the consumption of alcohol, increased exercise and a complete cessation of smoking.

?Nuff said really.

Originally posted 2010-01-11 11:42:40. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Related posts:

1. High Blood Pressure, an Introduction to Treatment Options
2. Diet to Reduce High Blood Pressure- a Natural Hypertension Treatment With No Medication
3. High Blood Pressure – A New Approach To Treatment

The rationale behind this that Doctors felt that the adverse side effects of the medication used at the time would possibly be of more danger to the patient than the high blood pressure readings.

Times have changed however and this line of thinking is no longer in use. Both of the above perceptions relating to the danger of the side effects and the mild nature of the blood pressure readings have lead to the discontinuance of this practice.

Recent research has firmly established the value of treating ?stage 1 Hypertension? (a reading of between 140/90 ? 159/99 Hg) with medication if necessary. It is now also considered prudent to treat patients who also suffer from Diabetes and High Blood Pressure if their readings are as low as 130/80 Hg. The sensitivity of medication nowadays is such that blood pressure levels can be controlled with much lower dosages meaning that the danger of side effects can also be reduced.

There has never been a greater variety of medication for High Blood Pressure available to Doctors from which to choose. These ?antihypertensive drugs? also include many types of medication where there is a combination of several different types of drug. The newer types of medication quite often have a different chemical makeup and structure compared to the older ones but quite often produce nearly identical effects on the human body.

The range and sophistication of medication is such now that Doctors can produce care plans and treatment programmes tailored to the individual patient and in most cases prescribe medication that have little or minimal side effect to the patient and protect against possible further complications down the line.

On of the most important aspects of where treatment differs nowadays is that Doctors can quite possibly provide one single course of medication that can treat conditions like Hypertension and accompanying medical problems like congestive Heart Failure.

The generally accepted initial approach to Hypertension Treatment nowadays is to start slow & low and then build gradually where possible gradually increasing the dosage of the medicine prescribed until the blood pressure level sinks to a normal level. If this is not shown to work or causes troublesome side effects then a wide number of replacement medications are available for use.

The presently accepted course of treatment for Stage 1 Hypertension is to start with one drug and add a second if the blood pressure reading does not respond or decrease to normal levels. The target levels here are 140/90 Hg. For those with diabetes or chronic kidney disease then the ideal targets are reduced to 130/80 Hg. For ?Stage 2 Hypertension? (the old levels of conventional High Blood Pressure) then the accepted treatment programme is to start with at least 2 drugs. Again if the response to this is not within an acceptable timeframe then the introduction of a third drug may occur.

Just when you think that Hypertension can be controlled with purely medication. There is a marked improvement to all of these programmes when the medication is accompanied by the introduction and implementation of lifestyle changes such as a well balanced diet, reduction in the consumption of alcohol, increased exercise and a complete cessation of smoking.

?Nuff said really.

Originally posted 2010-01-08 11:41:16. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Related posts:

1. An Introduction to Treatment for High Blood Pressure
2. Diet to Reduce High Blood Pressure- a Natural Hypertension Treatment With No Medication
3. High Blood Pressure – A New Approach To Treatment

Sodium Chloride (the chemical name for Salt, the culinary cooking condiment not the International Treaty on Weapons limitation) is an essential element in the life of human beings. Most people think of Salt purely in terms of that little white food seasoning found in shakers on virtually very food table the world over.

Salt was of crucial importance in Ancient times as part of the economic transactions over slaves, hence the phrase Not worth his Salt. Wars have been fought over Salt supplies and certainly the capture of a national Salt supply has certainly played an important part in the nature of military campaigns.

Salt has inspired literature and many of the more semi philosophical sayings of today (To be taken with a pinch of salt, Salt of the Earth etc) come from a fascination with Salt.

References to salt can be found in one of the worlds oldest published reference books, the Chinese book The Peng-Tzao-Kan-Mu. For an ancient text and one that almost dates prehistory the book describes in almost eerie detail two processes of extracting salt that are very much in use still today.

The actual requirement for the average Western Adult male is surprisingly small at 250 mg of sodium yet we still seem so addicted with the substance that the average consumption is almost 700 percent greater. So it comes as no surprise that Salt as a single substance is not only vitally important to our well being but also as one single substance probably causes us more harm than any other single substance (along with sugar).

With an approach to the consumption of Salt that almost borders an epidemic in that our consumption far outstrips our need as we consume on average some 3500 mg per day. This is still more than 7 times the amount actually required and goes some way to emphasise our dependency on this white granular substance.

So if this substance tastes so good how can it actually be so bad for us? Well as the Chinese have said over the past 2500 years or so, too much Salt hardens the pulse i.e. it makes the arteries harden and this can lead to High Blood Pressure. The connection between excessive consumption of Salt and Hypertension has been well documented over the years and is as reliable as one could ever expect.

Does not everyone need to consume salt in order to survive? Salt is one of those substances that you could almost connect with virtually all of our external and internal bodily functions. With regards to our metabolism, Sodium helps assist the cells in our intestines in absorbing food and lastly, with sodium, the muscles in your body would not be able to contract and therefore we would not be able to move.

So the sad aspect to the whole subject is that it is very much a case of too much of a good thing will cause you harm.

It would appear that in this case the overall approach has got to be moderation in all things.

Originally posted 2010-01-06 08:28:40. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Related posts:

1. Discover the Truth About the Connection Between Salt and High Blood Pressure
2. High Blood Pressure, Why is There So Much Medicine?
3. What if you Could Extend your Life With a High Blood Pressure Diet?