High Blood Pressure Medicine Vasodilators
Vasodilators are medicines that act directly on muscles in blood vessel walls to make blood vessels widen (dilate). Vasodilators are used as a high blood pressure medicine. By widening the arteries, these drugs allow blood to flow through more easily, reducing high blood pressure. Controlling high blood pressure is important because the condition puts a burden on the heart and the arteries, which can lead to permanent damage over time. If untreated, high blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, or kidney failure. Vasodilators usually are prescribed with other types of blood pressure drugs and rarely are used alone. Examples of vasodilators are hydralazine (Apresoline) and minoxidil (Loniten). The vasodilator hydralazine also may be used as high blood pressure medicine in pregnant women or to bring down extremely high blood pressure in emergency situations. In the forms used for treating high blood pressure (tablets or injections), these drugs are available only with a physician's prescription.
Vasodilators will not cure high blood pressure, but will help control the condition. To avoid the serious health problems that high blood pressure can cause, patients may have to take medicine for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, medicine alone may not be enough. People with high blood pressure also may need to avoid certain foods and keep their weight under control. The health care professional who is treating the condition can offer advice on what measures may be necessary.
Some people feel dizzy or have headaches while using this medicine. These problems are especially likely to occur in older people, who are more sensitive than younger people to the medicine's effects. Anyone who takes these drugs should not drive, use machines, or do anything else that might be dangerous until they know how the drugs affect them.
People who have certain medical conditions or who are taking certain other medicines may have problems if they take vasodilators. In the past, patients with severe aortic stenosis could not use vasodilators because they could cause blood pressure to drop too low and result in severe complications. However, in 2003, a report announced that the vasodilator nitroprusside was safe in these patients and rapidly improved their cardiac function.
Vasodilators may interact with other medicines. When this happens, the effects of one or both of the drugs may change or the chance of side effects may be greater. In addition, many prescription and nonprescription (over-the-counter) drugs may affect blood pressure. No other medication should be taken without the approval of the physician who prescribed the vasodilator. In particular, avoiding over-the-counter medicines for appetite control, colds, cough, sinus problems, asthma, hay fever and other allergies, should be avoided as these may increase blood pressure. At the other extreme, dangerously low blood pressure may result when drugs such as the blood pressure medicine guanethidine (Ismelin) or nitrates, used to treat chest pain, are combined with vasodilators.
Using a vasodilator to lower blood pressure may worsen the problems that result from heart disease, blood vessel disease, or a recent heart attack or stroke. This medicine also may make angina (chest pain) worse. Vasodilators may make pheochromocytomas (tumors of the adrenal medulla), more active. Before using a vasodilator, people with any of these medical problems should make sure their physicians are aware of their conditions. People with kidney disease also should check with their physicians before using a vasodilator. Side effects may be greater in these people because their kidneys are slow to clear the medicine from the body.
Taking vasodilators with certain other drugs may affect the way the drugs work or may increase the chance of side effects. Any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter) medicine should not be taken along with a vasodilator unless it has been discussed with the physician who prescribed the vasodilator.
Examples of Vasodilators are Hydralazine (Apresoline) and Minoxidil (Loniten). The Vasodilator Hydralazine also may be used to control high blood pressure in pregnant women or to bring down extremely high blood pressure in emergency situations. In the forms used for treating high blood pressure (tablets or injections), these drugs are available only with a physician's prescription.
The recommended dosage depends on the type of vasodilator. The physician who prescribed the drug or the pharmacist who filled the prescription can recommend the correct dosage. This high blood pressure medicine should only be used as directed. Physicians usually prescribe vasodilators along with other blood pressure medicines. Taking each drug at the correct time is extremely important. Health care providers can offer suggestions on how to remember when to take each drug. Seeing a physician regularly while taking a vasodilator is important, especially during the first few months. The physician will check to make sure the medicine is working as it should and will watch for unwanted side effects. People who have high blood pressure often feel fine. But even when they feel well, patients should keep seeing their physicians and taking their medicine.