The doctor asked me to take diuretics, is it because my kidneys are not good? Want me to pee more?
Recently, a patient raised his own questions, when he went to the hospital to see a doctor, because the blood pressure was a little high, but the doctor prescribed diuretics to let himself go to the toilet a few more times, was it his kidney problem?
Or did the doctor prescribe the wrong one?
This problem has caused a lot of trouble in the mind, the patient quickly found a doctor to want to distinguish clearly, in fact, the doctor did not read wrong, but there is no time to answer this question in detail, which caused a misunderstanding.
I believe that there will be many similar patients in your life, obviously high blood pressure, but the doctor recommends the use of diuretics, today we will talk about it, why is this situation?
First, why do I use diuretics for high blood pressure?
Blood pressure problems are not a small problem, many people due to poor blood pressure control, damage to blood vessels, whether it is the heart brain or kidneys will be damaged, so for many patients, effectively reduce blood pressure is the primary task of treatment.
But how do you lower the blood pressure? On the one hand, we can change our lifestyle habits, such as increasing exercise and eating more healthy fruits and vegetables, which can effectively reduce blood pressure.
But to know that blood pressure is not so easy to lower, there are many people even after improving the lifestyle, blood pressure is still not effectively reduced, such patients after a period of treatment, doctors often recommend the use of drugs to control blood pressure, but what drug to use?
At present, there are many kinds of drugs that can be used, such as calcium antagonists, angiotensin receptor inhibitors, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, etc., these drugs have their own characteristics, but also have their own mechanism of action, always can lower blood pressure.
One of these drugs has a very direct and simple effect, and that is diuretics.
Why does blood pressure rise?
The amount of water in the blood vessel will bring a certain pressure to the blood vessel wall, which is the mechanism of blood pressure generation, but if the water can be drained, that is, the blood is reduced, then the blood pressure will also come down.
Therefore, it is possible to use diuretics to lower blood pressure, which is very simple and effective, and is also a common drug used by some clinical patients.
In particular, thiazide diuretics, which after long-term application, can not only control blood pressure, but also effectively reduce the mortality rate of patients and the possibility of stroke and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.
At the same time, thiazide diuretics can also have a good safety, many patients after taking medicine, there is not so much adverse reaction, and more importantly, the price of such drugs is very low, the people can afford to eat.
But what are the characteristics of this drug? How should I eat it?
Second, pay attention to 5 aspects.
The antihypertensive effect of this type of diuretic is very clear, and many patients can achieve effective control of blood pressure after small doses, especially for elderly patients with hypertension, or people with poor heart function.
But what should I pay attention to when using this drug?
1. Slow onset.
If there is a sudden increase in blood pressure and you want to quickly lower your blood pressure, then it is best not to expect thiazide diuretics, because its onset is a very slow effect, the time and duration are very long, and the effect is very mild.
Studies have even shown that diuretics are applied to patients with hypertension only after a few weeks of onset of action.
2. The older the age, the better the effect.
Because the metabolic mechanism of this drug will persist in the elderly for a longer period of time, the older the patient, the better the efficacy of the drug will be, especially friendly to elderly patients.
3. It can be combined with the drug.
What if a drug doesn't work well to lower blood pressure?
Many times doctors will recommend that patients use multiple antihypertensive drugs at the same time, and diuretics tend to play a better antihypertensive effect because their effect is very mild.
4. Pay attention to potassium supplementation.
When using antihypertensive drugs, did your doctor ask you to supplement potassium ions? What about fruits and vegetables rich in potassium?
If so, then you may be using users of these drugs, which will let potassium ions follow the urine while excreting water, so it is easy to have potassium ion disorders.
5. Eat less salt appropriately.
If sodium ion intake can be restricted, then diuretics can be better effective, and the control of blood pressure is more perfect, so it is best to limit the intake of sodium salt while taking such drugs.
summary.
Diuretics can indeed lower blood pressure, the main way this drug works, is to reduce blood volume, blood becomes less, then blood pressure will also be reduced.
Moreover, while treating blood pressure, it can also prevent heart failure, and it also has a good preventive effect on myocardial infarction and stroke, so it is very suitable for use in the middle-aged and elderly in the clinic.
But at the same time, diuretics are not harmless, although small doses of drugs are usually used as the first choice of drugs to reduce blood pressure, but its adverse reactions are also many, the most important is the ion problem.
Don't forget to supplement potassium ions when applying, if the potassium ions are too low, it can easily lead to some unnecessary trouble, and the antihypertensive effect will be less ideal.
Don't forget to supplement potassium ions appropriately when using this type of medicine, and the method is very simple: eat more fruits and vegetables, there is no better way than this.