High blood pressure occurs when the force with which the blood pushes against the veins and arteries' walls is much higher than normal. Having a high blood pressure for a long time greatly increases the risk of a stroke or heart-attack, and the risk to develop a heart disease. Millions of people are suffering from high blood pressure all over the world, and many of them aren't even aware, because it has no symptoms. Some find out about it only after a few years, when they discover that their heart disease or stroke is caused by the fact that they had high blood pressure for a long time.

The exact cause of high blood pressure has not been discovered yet, but what is certain is that the modern stressful lifestyle together with the western junk-food diet are two factors that seriously increase the risks of having high blood pressure. In order to find out if you have a high blood pressure or not, consult your doctor for several measurements. If all the values recorded are above the normal limit than your blood pressure is too high and you must begin the treatment soon before you become at risk to develop severe heart diseases.

You can treat high blood pressure with drugs and with diet and lifestyle changes. However, some people can't afford to change their lifestyles so they must rely only on drugs.

There are several categories of drugs that can lower the blood pressure:

Beta blockers - they can decrease the heart rate by reducing the nerve impulses to the heart. This causes the heart to beat slower and therefore the blood pressure to lower. Some of the stronger beta blockers can have side effects that include insomnia, depression or asthma. The most common beta blockers are Atenolol, Bisoprolol, Acebutolol and Carteolol.

Diuretics - they can make the body lose the sodium excess from the body through urination. Sodium is one of the most dangerous substances when it comes to blood pressure, it alone can cause it to raise over the normal values. Among the most effective diuretics you can find Furosemide, Amiloride, Bumetanide, and Chlorothiazide. Diuretics can cause the potassium from the body to disappear, but potassium is found in many aliments so the supply can be renewed.

Ace inhibitors - they can prevent a certain hormone that can cause the arteries to get narrower from forming. If that hormone is not present then the arteries will become more relaxed and the blood pressure will lower. The ACE inhibitors most recommended by doctors are Fosinoprol, Enalapril, Captopril and Benazepril. Among their side effects skin rash has been encountered a few times, and in some cases a dry cough also appeared.

Other used types of blood pressure lowering drugs are calcium channel blockers (which can stop calcium from entering the muscles of the heart, thus relaxing the blood vessels and lowering blood pressure), alpha beta blockers and nervous system inhibitors.