Primary hypertension, also known as essential hypertension, is a common condition that’s characterized by high blood pressure. Unlike secondary hypertension, which is high blood pressure that stems from another medical condition, primary hypertension is a standalone condition. As such, it’s treated differently than secondary hypertension.
The main treatment for primary hypertension is to use medications to lower your blood pressure. If you catch your condition early enough, however, you might be able to lower your blood pressure by making lifestyle changes. It is important to have primary hypertension diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible before it leads to additional complications, such as heart problems and diseases.
In most cases with moderate to severe primary hypertension, medications are the treatment of choice. Medications work to lower your blood pressure and bring it back to normal levels. Here are some of the most common medications used to treat primary hypertension.
Beta-blockers, such as atenolol and bisoprolol, are effective at relaxing your heart and slowing down your heart rate. This leads to a reduction in blood pressure.
ARBs, such as azilsartan and eprosartan, help lower your blood pressure by widening your arteries and veins. The wider your veins are, the less congested they become and the lower your blood pressure will be.
ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors help relax your arteries and veins, which helps to reduce your blood pressure. Benazepril, captopril, and moexipril are some of the most common ACE inhibitors for primary hypertension.
Diuretics, such as Aldactone and enalapril, force you to urinate more frequently, which is necessary to remove excess liquid from the body. As your kidneys are forcing liquid out of the body, it reduces the amount of liquid in your blood and lowers your blood pressure.
In some cases, your blood pressure is high because your vessel walls are too tense. Vasodilators, such as hydralazine and minoxidil, help relax these vessel walls and lower your blood pressure.
If your arteries and veins are too narrow, resulting in high blood pressure, plaque buildup, and reduced blood flow, calcium channel blockers can restore them to normal size.
While medications are the best option to treat primary hypertension, they also have unwanted side effects, including the following.
If you catch your primary hypertension early enough, you might be able to correct it with lifestyle changes and not need medications. Here are some of the best ways to naturally lower your blood pressure through lifestyle changes.
In many instances, if you have regular doctor visits, you can catch primary hypertension before it gets too bad and fix it with lifestyle changes. However, if your primary hypertension is too advanced, you will need to take medications to keep your condition from progressing. This is important because primary hypertension can lead to serious heart problems that require surgery.