Several types of medicine are used to treat high blood pressure. Your health care provider will decide which type of medicine is right for you. You may need to take more than one blood pressure medicine.
Each type of blood pressure medicine listed below comes in different brand and generic names.
One or more of these blood pressure medicines are often used to treat high blood pressure:
Diuretics are also called water pills. They help your kidneys remove some salt (sodium) from your body. As a result, your blood vessels don't have to hold as much fluid and your blood pressure goes down.
Beta-blockers make the heart beat at a slower rate and with less force.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (also called ACE inhibitors) relax your blood vessels, which lowers your blood pressure.
Angiotensin II receptor blockers (also called ARBs) work in about the same way as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.
Calcium channel blockers relax blood vessels by stopping calcium from entering cells.
Blood pressure medicines that are not used as often include:
Alpha-blockers help relax your blood vessels, which lowers your blood pressure.
Centrally acting drugs signal your brain and nervous system to relax your blood vessels.
Vasodilators signal the muscles in the walls of blood vessels to relax.
Renin inhibitors, a newer type of medicine for treating high blood pressure, act by relaxing your blood vessels.
Community
