The body needs blood in order to deliver oxygen and other nutrients to the organs and take waste products away. If the blood pressure is high, it can cause damage to the heart and blood vessels. Blood vessel damage can lead to diseases of the organs, such as kidney disease or strokes. Low blood pressure is a problem because not enough blood reaches the organs to deliver necessary nutrients. Medications can be given to raise or lower the blood pressure.
Medicines for High Blood Pressure
There are many medications available for high blood pressure. According to "Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment," some decrease the blood pressure by acting on the brain to decrease nerve output to blood vessels. Examples include methyldopa and clonidine. Others affect hormones that increase the blood pressure. ACE inhibitors such as enalapril block an enzyme in the lungs that activates a hormone responsible for increasing the blood pressure. Some medications act on the heart and blood vessels. Beta-blockers such as propranolol slow down the heart and its force of contraction and relax the blood vessels. Alpha-blockers such as prazosin relax the blood vessels.
Medicines for Low Blood Pressure
According to "Clinical Anesthesiology," compared to agents for lowering the blood pressure, there are fewer medications for raising the blood pressure. The most common include epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and vasopressin. The first three activate the heart to make it pump faster and harder and increase the tone of blood vessels to bring the blood pressure up. Vasopressin primarily just increases the blood pressure by activating the blood vessels and not the heart.
Fluid Management
A third type of medical intervention also works to raise and lower the blood pressure. Fluid management can rapidly increase and decrease blood pressure. Medicines such as diuretics decrease the blood pressure by causing the kidney to expel water from the blood into the urine. Examples of such medications include hydrochlorothiazide and furosemide. Alternatively, the blood pressure can rapidly be raised by administering fluids such as normal saline through an intravenous line.
References
- "Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, 49th Edition"; Stephen J. McPhee and Maxine Papadakis; 2010
- "Clinical Anesthesiology, Fourth Edition"; G. Morgan, Maged Mikhail and Michael Murray ; 2005
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