Why bother with medications?
"Take your medication regularly," your doctor or pharmacist tells you. With high blood pressure medication, you may wonder: what's the point? It doesn't seem to be doing anything, except maybe giving you side effects. But that's not the whole story. Blood pressure medications do a lot of work "behind the scenes" to improve your health. Here's the scoop.
You need a certain amount of pressure in your blood just to keep it flowing through your body. However, if the pressure gets too high, it can damage your blood vessels and organs. This usually doesn't happen right away, unless your blood pressure is extremely high. But not treating your high blood pressure, can lead, over time, to an increased risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, and blood vessel damage. The higher your blood pressure, and the longer your body is exposed to it, the greater your risk of health problems.
Along with blood pressure-healthy changes to your lifestyle, such as losing weight, healthy eating, managing stress, and increasing exercise, blood pressure medications are important to reduce your risk of blood pressure-related health problems. They work in various ways to reduce the pressure of the blood on the blood vessels. But medications aren't a cure for high blood pressure. When the medication is not in your body, your blood pressure can go back up, increasing your risk of health problems. That's why blood pressure medications need to be taken regularly in order to work. It's also important to have your blood pressure checked regularly so that you and your doctor can see how well the medication is working.
87% of people with high blood pressure are either untreated or undertreated. Don't be one of them! Follow our tips to help you take your medication regularly.
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