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Calcium channel blockers and their efficacy against hypertension

Before we can start talking about calcium channel blockers and Norvasc in particular, we need to cover the basic grounds when it comes to hypertension and all the implications of this medical condition that has become the most wide-spread medical condition and which affects over a billion of people all over the globe.

We should first cover the causes of hypertension. There is the primary hypertension and the secondary hypertension. Secondary hypertension is caused by certain medical conditions, like renal impairment and it makes up for between 5% and 10% of hypertension cases. However, we are concerned with primary hypertension which is the most common one and which is not caused by any medical condition but by a certain lifestyle. First of all, there is the obesity which increases the risks of developing hypertension manifold. Other important contributors to high blood pressure include a sedentary lifestyle (lack of exercise), unhealthy diet (salty, fatty foods, precooked meals), smoking, alcohol, stress, genetic predisposition and many others. All of the above can cause certain changes in the cardio-vascular system that, in turn, lead to high blood pressure. These include the constriction of arteries, hardening of arteries, fatty sediments on the walls of the blood vessels and many others.

High blood pressure can severely shorten the life expectancy, even in patients who are suffering from only mild hypertension. In more severe cases, there is a risk of certain cardiac episodes, such as infarctions, strokes, aneurysms, congestive heart failure and others which can even be lethal.

Calcium channel blockers, and therefore Norvasc as well, help treat the high blood pressure by relaxing the smooth muscle in the arterial walls, which reduces the blood pressure. This is one of the ways of reducing the blood pressure and it is one of the most favored ones, especially in older patients. Norvasc can also help in treating angina by increasing the flow of blood to the heart muscle. It can also be employed in other medical cases that have been caused by coronary artery disease.

Norvasc treatment

Your doctor will need to know as much as possible about your medical history before they can safely prescribe Norvasc to you. For example, if you are allergic to Norvasc or to any of its ingredients, they will not prescribe it in the first place as you might develop lethal allergic reactions. There are other conditions that warrant extra care and special precaution when prescribing and using Norvasc, such as aortic stenosis, congestive heart failure and liver disease. You must also talk to your doctor about any other hypertension medications you are using, such as beta-blockers or Ace inhibitors as they might interact with Norvasc. In fact, it is best if you cover everything that is unclear to you about your Norvasc treatment with your doctor who will know everything that you want and need to know.