Compliance with medical treatments key to managing hypertension

If you have hypertension or high blood pressure, you must know that compliance to the prescribed drug treatment is key in successfully managing this disease.

Drug regimen compliance is vital to help control and normalize your blood pressure. Stopping medications can cause your blood pressure to rise even higher than before, and when left uncontrolled, hypertension can lead to serious cardiovascular disorders such as strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, heart rhythm irregularities, and kidney failure.

But some hypertensive patients find it tough to adhere to a drug treatment. Some stop taking their medication because they believe it makes them feel worse or because it is too expensive. There are those who stop when they feel better or their blood pressure becomes normal and mistakenly believe that they no longer need the medication or that they thought they were cured. Some just simply forget taking their medication.

Compliance to prescribed drug treatment is the key to successfully manage hypertension.

Continuous neglect in regular drug regimen has contributed to the disease’s high prevalence worldwide, afflicting about a billion individuals. In the Philippines alone, around 10.5 million Filipinos have hypertension. Of this number, 25% are not aware of their condition while only 13% who are under treatment are controlled.

Call it lack of proper knowledge or drive to manage their condition, people with hypertension remain oblivious to the causes of the disease, how to prevent and avoid its progression, and how they can treat or at least manage their condition.

Hypertension happens when the pressure inside the large arteries is too high. Its causes are hard to identify, although heredity and lifestyle play a key role in acquiring the disease. Factors that contribute to the increase in blood pressure include poor diet, lack of physical activity, smoking, heavy drinking as well as medications that increase blood pressure. Other less common causes include disorders of the kidneys or endocrine glands.

The only way to detect hypertension is by having your blood pressure checked. When diagnosed with hypertension, blood pressure should be controlled through regular drug treatment. Prescribing of medicines will depend on the status of your hypertension, whether it’s uncomplicated, have another disease such as a heart problem or diabetes, have some specific indication or contraindication for a specific drug, and whether your past experience with hypertension treatment dictates a choice of drug. A wide variety of medications can be prescribed by your doctor, but he will specifically prescribe a drug that suits your need.

Adherence to medication should also be complemented by modifications in your lifestyle. Eat healthy, exercise daily, lose weight if you’re overweight, and avoid stress and vices like smoking and excessive drinking. It is important as well to work closely with your doctor and consult him about any problems that keep you from achieving your blood pressure goal. You should also keep a daily record of your blood pressure readings to keep track of your condition.

Hypertension can be treated successfully. By adopting a healthy lifestyle, consulting your doctor regularly, and complying with your medicines religiously, you can keep your blood pressure under control and prevent the risk of leading to more serious cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and strokes as well as kidney failure.