Medication options

If making lifestyle changes isn't enough to control your blood pressure, your doctor will likely prescribe blood pressure medication. You may be given one or more of these medications:

• Diuretics, also called water pills. A diuretic removes excess water and sodium from your body, so there's less fluid flowing through your veins and arteries. This reduces pressure on the walls of your blood vessels.

  There are three types of diuretics: thiazide, loop and potassium-sparing. Examples of diuretics include chlorothiazide (Diuril), bumetanide (Bumex) and amiloride (Midamor).

  If diuretics aren't enough to lower your blood pressure, your doctor might recommend adding other blood pressure medications to your treatment.

• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. These help relax blood vessels by preventing the formation of angiotensin, a chemical in your body that narrows blood vessels.

  There are several ACE inhibitors available. Examples include enalapril (Vasotec, Epaned), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril, Qbrelis) and ramipril (Altace).

• Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). These drugs block the action of angiotensin, a chemical in your body that narrows your arteries and veins. ARBs include valsartan (Diovan), losartan (Cozaar) and others.

• Calcium channel blockers. These medications prevent calcium from entering the cells of your heart and arteries, allowing your arteries to relax and open.

  Examples of calcium channel blockers include amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem, Tiazac, others), nifedipine (Adalat CC, Procardia) and verapamil (Verelan, Calan).

• Beta blockers. These drugs work by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline. They cause your heart to beat slower and with less force. Examples of beta blockers include metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL), nadolol (Corgard) and atenolol (Tenormin).
• Renin inhibitors. Renin is a substance produced by your kidneys that triggers a series of steps that increases blood pressure. Aliskiren (Tekturna) slows the production of renin, which reduces its ability to begin this process.