Medication

The physician will prescribe any medication you may require after evaluating your health status. It is important to follow the recommendations of the physician and pharmacist.

There are certain medications that the physician is routinely asked, "What is this medication for and why am I taking this drug?" The following are just some of the questions that arise:

ACE inhibitor
A type of medications that inhibiting an enzyme (angiotensin-converting enzyme) that is important in the regulation of blood pressure. Studies have also indicated that it may help prevent or slow the progression of kidney disease in patients with diabetes.

Examples include: bepridil, captopril, enalapril, lisinopril, losartan potassium, and ramipril.

Beta blocker
A type of medication that block the action of adrenaline (a beta adrenergic substance) and can help relieve stress to the heart muscle. Beta blockers are often used to lower the blood pressure and slow the heart rate.

Blood pressure medication
Medication that helps lessen the force that the circulating blood exerts on the walls of the arteries.

This measurement is divided into systolic (pressure during contraction of the heart) and diastolic (pressure during relaxation phase).

Blood pressure varies with gender and age of an individual. A simplified way to remember which number is which, the normal systolic pressure is your age + 100. Children's numbers are 2 x (age) + 80 equals systolic BP. The diastolic pressure number should be roughly 2/3 the systolic pressure.

A diet in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy lowers blood pressure as well as drugs. The reason is that when you eat these foods, you excrete more water, thus reducing your blood volume so your heart doesn't have to pump as hard.

No single medication has proved to be the magic bullet for lowering blood pressure, so doctors typically rely on a number of different pharmaceuticals, including diuretics, angiotensin receptor blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, beta blockers and calcium channel blockers.

National Hypertension Association (NHA) researchers have shown, for example, that salt-sensitive rats get high blood pressure when exposed to excess salt. "But the salt resistant ones are not bothered by it at all; their kidneys get rid of it," noted Dr. William M. Manger, NHA chairman and clinical professor of medicine at N.Y. University Medical Center. At least in salt-sensitive rats, it appears that excess salt to the brain causes hypertension, he said. How that will play out in humans is still unknown, but investigators are hopeful.

Pharmaceutical developers are responding to the need to make it easier for hypertensive patients to comply with medication regimens by developing new combination products. In the future, we will see more fixed-dose combos of antihypertensive medications as well as pills that can treat more than one risk factor at a time, predicts LeadDiscovery, a United Kingdom-based research outfit.

Pfizer Inc. was the first to offer such a two-in-one product. In 2004, the company received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin marketing Caduet, a pill that contains both Norvasc for lowering high blood pressure and Lipitor for treating high cholesterol.

There are a few new agents in the pipeline that hold promise. One novel class of medications, called oral Renin inhibitors, works by targeting an enzyme released by the kidneys that can affect blood pressure. The first of these agents to be introduced on the market is likely to be Aliskiren, a Novartis drug currently in phase III testing. Analysts expect the company to seek regulatory approval in 2006 and are forecasting blockbuster sales topping $1 billion by 2008 and reaching $3.6 billion by 2012, LeadDiscovery reports.

Cholesterol medication
A medication used to help lower your cholesterol level. Cholesterol is a white, fat like steroid alcohol, C27H45OH, crystallizing in the form of leaflets or plates. This is found in blood, nerve fibers, in the liver, kidneys, adrenal glands, in bile, animal fats and oils, brain tissue, egg yokes and milk.

It is a factor in most types of gallstones and occurs as deposits in arteries, in carcinomatous tissue, in various cysts. Most of the body's cholesterol is synthesised in the liver, but some is absorbed from the diet.

Diuretic
An agent that promotes the excretion of urine.

Hypertension medication
A medication use to help lower arterial blood pressure. Hypertension may have no known cause or be associated with other primary diseases..

This condition is considered a risk factor for the development of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and peripheral vascular disease, .

Potassium supplement
If your physician prescribes a potassium supplement it is probably due to some of the following reasons. To increase oxygen in the brain, reduce blood pressure, strokes, allergies and helps memory.

Alcohol, coffee, sugar, hypoglycemia, mental and physical stress depletes potassium. It is displaced by excess sodium.

Other Source of potassium are bananas, milk, apricots, potatoes, lima beans, sunflower seeds, citrus fruits, cantaloupe, avocados, tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, fish and poultry. A banana and a baked potato contain approximately 1200 mg of potassium.

If you eat well and hold off on the coffee, sugar and salt, potassium supplements should not be required.

People with kidney disease should not take a potassium supplement.

The minimum daily requirement for an adult is approximately 2000 mg. Recommended forms are the gluconate, citrate, and fumarate. Take a potassium supplement with food.

Stress medication
A medication used to help relieve mental, emotional, disruptive or upsetting conditions occurring in response to adverse external influences. Stress is capable of affecting your physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, muscle tension, fatigue, a rise in blood pressure, irritability and depression.

Grapefruit and medication*
Consult with your physician to determine whether any prescription drugs you're taking could be affected by the use of grapefruit (pulp or juice). Do not start consuming grapefruit or its juice if you are taking one of the affected drugs. If you're a consumer of grapefruit, check with your physician before you discontinue consuming grapefruit. because you could risk creating a change in the blood level of the medications you're taking. This advisory is from the the Canadian government* stating that people should not take certain drugs with grapefruit or its juice.

Drugs and health products mentioned in the advisory used in the treatment of the following medical conditions are known to cause this effect:

*The above information about grapefruit comes from www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html

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