Hypertension and You

Old Drugs, New Drugs, and the Right Drugs for Your High Blood Pressure

Samuel J. Mann

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781442215191
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Cardiology

Many of the nearly 70 million Americans with hypertension (high blood pressure) would like to bring it under control through lifestyle changes such as losing weight, cutting back on salt, exercising, or reducing stress. But, like it or not, most will require medication to get their blood pressure where it needs to be. The good news is that we have many excellent blood pressure medications which, when prescribed wisely, can control hypertension in almost everyone. The bad news is that, despite good intentions, doctors are placing millions of people who have hypertension on medications, drug combinations, or doses that are wrong for them, with staggering consequences that include uncontrolled hypertension, higher risk for stroke and heart attack, avoidable side effects, and billions of wasted health care dollars.
Here, Dr. Mann, a nationally recognized hypertension specialist, identifies the drugs most likely to have side effects, and those that can be used in their place. He describes the shortcomings of some of the new drugs, while also introducing readers to some excellent old drugs that are woefully underused as a result of the publicity blitz surrounding the new, expensive ones. He emphasizes the importance of matching the medication and dosage to the individual who will be taking them, and presents the overlooked clues that can tell us who should be on which drug (even an excellent drug can be the wrong one if it is given to the wrong person or in the wrong dose). Hypertension and You is directed at the more than 50 million Americans (including a majority of people over the age of 60) who are taking blood pressure medication. Many patients suspect they might be on the wrong medication, but don't know enough to be sure. This book shows how medications can be prescribed more wisely to achieve better results and gives patients the knowledge they need to capably discuss their medications with their health care providers.
Hypertension and You provides many ideas and approaches that will be new to readers, and also to many physicians, and which no other book offers. It's the first book to make the case that something is terribly wrong with how doctors are prescribing drugs for this condition. It provides readers with better knowledge of the available medications, empowering them to work with their physician to get onto the medications that are right for them.

Table of contents

• LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
• INTRODUCTION
• 1 INCORRECT BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENT AND THE OVERTREATMENT OF HYPERTENSION
• 2 FINDING THE DRUGS THAT ARE RIGHT FOR YOU: Targeting Three Mechanisms That Underlie Hypertension
• 3 THE DIURETICS
• 4 THE CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS (CCBs)
• 5 THE ACEIs, ARBs, AND DRIs: Targeting the Renin-Angiotensin System
• 6 BETA-BLOCKERS: When They Are Necessary and When They Aren’t
• 7 ALPHA-BLOCKERS: Underused, but Fabulous in the Right Patients
• 8 OTHER ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS: Vasodilators and Drugs Targeting the SNS
• 9 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Finding the Drugs and Combinations That Are Right for You by Aiming at the Right Mechanism
• 10 SOLVING THE CHALLENGE OF RESISTANT HYPERTENSIO: A Simplified, Successful Strategy
• 11 THE MIND/BODY CONNECTION AND SELECTION OF THE RIGHT BLOOD PRESSURE DRUGS
• 12 SECONDARY HYPERTENSION
• 13 HYPERTENSION IN THE ELDERLY
• 14 ALCOHOL, COFFEE, AND COMMONLY USED OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUGS
• 15 SEX AND EXERCISE
• 16 REDUCING MEDICATIONS AND CUTTING MEDICATION COSTS
• 17 CONCLUSION
• NOTES
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR