Uncle Wong's retirement life is leisurely, and he often travels around, hangs out with old friends, or takes a leisurely walk on the park paths.
One night, however, he came home from a party and was about to sleep when he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. My wife's concerned guess may be that his blood pressure has risen again.
The next day, Uncle Huang went to the hospital for a detailed examination. The doctor sternly told him that his blood pressure had soared to 180/100mmHg and that he also had chronic nephritis, which undoubtedly increased the health risks.
The doctor advised him to start taking antihypertensive medication to control his blood pressure and protect his kidneys. Uncle Huang attached great importance to the doctor's advice, and he took the medicine prescribed by the doctor and returned home.
For the first three months, he strictly followed the doctor's instructions and took one blood pressure medication on time every day, never missing a single pill. However, as time passed, Uncle Huang began to have doubts.
Although he has been taking the medicine for several months and has not shown any abnormalities, he still can't help but worry, will these drugs bring side effects?
01
What are the possible results of patients with high blood pressure who take antihypertensive drugs for a long time?
Long-term use of the same antihypertensive medication, although effective in controlling blood pressure, may also bring some potential side effects that should not be ignored.
Taking dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers as an example, such drugs such as amlodipine, nifedipine controlled-release tablets, felodipine sustained-release tablets, etc., after long-term use, patients may experience ankle edema.
This type of edema is usually related to the dose of medication taken, and if the edema persists, it is recommended that the patient consult a doctor promptly to consider changing the antihypertensive medication. In addition, the combination with sartan or puli antihypertensive drugs can also reduce the symptoms of edema to a certain extent.
Another commonly used class of antihypertensive drugs is angiotensin II receptor inhibitors, such as valsartan, losartan, irbesartan, etc. These drugs are indicated for people with high blood pressure who are intolerant to pril antihypertensives. However, patients who have been taking this type of medication for a long time may experience problems with back pain.
The incidence of musculoskeletal adverse reactions, such as back pain, caused by different sartan antihypertensive drugs, also varies. Therefore, if you experience back pain while taking a sartan antihypertensive drug, you should adjust your medication with the advice of your doctor.
Thiazide diuretics, such as hydrochlorothiazide and indapamide, are also one of the commonly used antihypertensive drugs. These drugs help lower blood pressure by shedding sodium, diuresis, and lowering blood volume.
However, long-term use of these drugs can lead to hypokalemia, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, anorexia, listlessness, confusion, and physical weakness. To avoid this, patients are advised to reduce sodium intake while taking the medication, which helps to alleviate hypokalemia.
Finally, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, such as perindopril, enalapril, benazepril, etc., may cause side effects of persistent dry cough in about 30% of patients when taken for a long time.
This dry cough is especially worse when lying down, and occurs relatively high in women. Because all pril antihypertensive drugs can cause a dry cough, it is recommended that patients who are intolerant should switch from antihypertensive drugs to sartan antihypertensive drugs under the guidance of a doctor.
02
Since blood pressure medication has so many side effects, is it okay not to take it?
The presence of antihypertensive drugs, as a common treatment for high blood pressure, does come with some side effects. However, this does not mean that we can completely abandon the use of blood pressure medications.
First of all, let's be clear that high blood pressure is a serious health problem that can lead to multiple complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, etc.
Therefore, controlling blood pressure is key to preventing these complications. As an effective blood pressure control tool, the importance of antihypertensive drugs is self-evident.
Of course, antihypertensive drugs are not a panacea, and their side effects also need our attention. For example, some blood pressure medications may cause uncomfortable symptoms such as bradyheartia, fatigue, and dizziness.
However, this does not mean that we should avoid blood pressure medications altogether. Instead, we should choose antihypertensive drugs and dosages reasonably according to our own health status and blood pressure level under the guidance of our doctors to minimize the occurrence of side effects.
In addition, in addition to medication, we can also control our blood pressure by making lifestyle changes. For example, maintaining a healthy diet, increasing physical activity, and reducing salt intake are all effective ways to control blood pressure. These methods not only help lower blood pressure, but also improve physical fitness and reduce drug dependence.
03
How to minimize the side effects of blood pressure medication?
For people with high blood pressure, taking medication is the key to stabilizing blood pressure. But how to reduce side effects and harm to the body while taking medicine?
First, start at the source – stick to the principle of minimum dose. Antihypertensive drugs are not always better, but should be adjusted gradually starting with the lowest dose. In this way, the risk of drug overdose can be avoided and the body can gradually adapt to the effects of the drug.
After taking it for a period of time, we should also closely monitor the blood pressure level, if the blood pressure is stable, then continue to maintain it, and if the antihypertensive effect is not obvious, consider increasing the dose appropriately.
Secondly, a combination of drugs is also a good option. By combining two or more antihypertensive drugs, we can reduce the possible adverse effects of a single drug while ensuring the antihypertensive effect.
However, it should be noted here that you must not blindly combine drugs, especially similar antihypertensive drugs, otherwise it may backfire and aggravate adverse reactions.
Finally, we need to understand that hypertension is not just a disease, but also a "lifestyle disease". While insisting on taking antihypertensive drugs, we must also adjust our lifestyle, eat a reasonable diet, and stay away from foods that are high in fat, calories, heavy oil, and heavy salt.
In addition, moderate exercise and regular work and rest are also essential. Only in this way can we truly control our blood pressure and let our health go with us.