What is the best medicine for high blood pressure?
Patient: My blood pressure is 174 over 110..i have never had really high BP... My father has hbp I know it s genetic. But it s such a fast onset if hbp. I have a doctor s appointment Thurs and I ve been taking my husband s hbp med.. Ablopinine 5mg until I see my doctor. Only because I have to do something with reading this high. What do u think? Doctor: Hello!Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!I understand your concern, and would explain that there is no specific treatment of choice for starting therapy for high blood pressure. The first thing to do in this situation, is closely monitor your blood pressure different times during the day (in sitting position after 10minutes of total relax) andperform a complete check up from your GP to exclude possible secondary causes of high blood pressure. So I would recommend a careful physical examination, a resting ECG, a chest x ray and some blood lab tests (complete blood count, fasting glucose, kidney and liver function tests, thyroid hormone levels, cortisol plasma levels, blood electrolytes,etc.). If all these tests result normal and your blood pressure values are above 130/90mm Hg, you should discuss with your doctor the possibility of starting a hypertension therapy. Regarding Amlodipine, it is a calcium channel blocker. It can be used as a starting therapy, as well as diuretics, ACE inhibitors or ARBs. The choice is usually made based on the patients tolerance, past medical history and blood pressure values. Hope to have been helpful!Best regards, Dr. Iliri