High blood pressure treatment can involve changes to a person’s lifestyle and/or taking drugs.
Changing lifestyle can help with controlling blood pressure and doctors often recommend the following:
• Changing diet to heart-healthy foods and eating less salt
• Getting regular exercise and other physical activity
• Losing weight if a person is overweight or obese
• Limiting alcohol consumption
Medications to treat high blood pressure can include:
• Diuretics – sometimes referred to as ‘water pills’, this type of medication help kidneys eliminate sodium and water to reduce blood volume
• ACE Inhibitors – are medicines that help relax blood vessels by blocking the action of certain natural chemicals in the body that cause them to narrow
• Calcium Channel Blockers – help relax the muscles in blood vessels and thus reduce blood pressure; they can also act to slow heart rate.
• Alpha Blockers – reduce nerve impulses to blood vessels and reduce natural chemicals that narrow blood vessels.
