If you have high blood pressure (hypertension), your doctor might prescribe medication to help you control it. Drugs for high blood pressure either lower the amount of blood that your heart pumps out or they decrease resistance in your blood vessels. There are several different classes of hypertension drugs including diuretics, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor and calcium channel blockers, and renin inhibitors. The best drug or combination of drugs for you depends on your race and your overall health.
Diuretics
Diuretics work on your kidneys to help you eliminate more sodium and water with the net effect of lowering the volume of blood in your body. A class of drugs called thiazide diuretics (such as hydrochlorothiazide) is often prescribed for people with high blood pressure. Diuretics are the least expensive blood pressure drugs and they have few side effects. They are often used in combination with other classes of drugs if they do not bring down blood pressure enough on their own.
Beta Blockers
Beta blockers (such as acebutolol) work on your heart to make it beat more slowly and with less force. The actions on your heart make beta blockers particularly useful if you have heart disease in addition to high blood pressure. Beta blockers can be used alone, but they are not as effective in African Americans. More often beta blockers are prescribed along with diuretics, especially for African Americans.
Blood Vessel Relaxers
There are several types of drugs that relax or open your blood vessels. ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors block the production of an enzyme that constricts blood vessels, while angiotensin II receptor blockers thwart the action of that enzyme. If you have heart failure or kidney disease, ACE inhibitors (such as benazepril) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (such as losartan) might be best for you. African Americans tend to respond well to these types of drugs and benefit from the positive effects on kidney function as well.
Calcium channel blockers (such as verapamil) relax the muscles in the walls of your blood vessels, allowing them to open wider. For African Americans, calcium channel blockers might be a better choice than ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers.
Renin Inhibitors
Your kidneys produce the hormone renin to maintain your blood pressure. If you have hypertension, decreasing renin's activity can help to control it. The drug aliskiren interferes with renin's activity. Renin inhibitors might not be best for patients with kidney disease in addition to hypertension.
