Have you recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure?
Is your doctor recommending that you take amlodipine but you are concerned about the
possible side effects?
If so, then this video is for you.
Keep watching to learn a little more about what side effects to watch out for and why
this can be an important medication for you.
Welcome to Family Med, I'm Dr. Richardson and this is your home for practical and accurate
information to help your family make healthy decisions.
This is the channel that focuses on bringing better health to your home.
On today's episode we are going to be talking about one of the most common medications that
we use to treat high blood pressure called amlodipine.
This is a medication that has been available in the United States since 1990.
When it first came out it was marketed under the trade name of Norvasc.
This medication has been generic for some time so it's usually just referred to by is
generic name amlodipine.
Although there are some off label uses for this medication, it's most common use is to
treat high blood pressure.
Amlodipine belongs to the class of medications called Calcium Channel blockers.
They work by using calcium to block certain processes that cause the contraction of smooth
muscles found in your blood vessels.
This allows them to relax decreasing the blood pressure inside your arteries.
So at this point you may have asked why you should even care that your blood pressure
is high?
This is actually a very common question that I get all the time.
I have to try and convince somebody that they need to take a pill that could cause side
effects when they feel just fine.
They have no symptoms and feel as good as they ever had.
Then I have to convince them that they need to a pill the rest of their life to treat
it.
Has that thought ever occurred to you?
If so let us know in the comments below so you can see that you are not alone!
The reason that we care about your high blood pressure is because of the impact that it
can have on your overall health.
High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease to include heart attacks and
strokes, as well as it can play a significant role in chronic kidney disease.
Oftentimes, we refer to high blood pressure as the silent killer.
Its called this because it typically doesn't have any symptoms.
When you take your blood pressure you get two numbers, the top number is called the
systolic blood pressure-this is the pressure your heart exerts on the vessels when it contracts.
The bottom number is called the diastolic blood pressure that's the resting pressure
in your blood vessels when your heart isn't beating.
Both numbers are important.
For most people we diagnose high blood pressure when your numbers are over 140 on the top
and 90 on the bottom on a consistent basis.
So you've talked to your doctor and they feel that it is important to add a medication to
treat your high blood pressure and amlodipine is the one that they feel is best for you
to try.
What should you expect?
Well, first of all it comes in a tablet of 2.5, 5 and 10mg.
The pill is meant to be taken once a day with the top effective dose of 10mg.
An important thing to remember about this medication specifically, and most blood pressure
medications in general, is that it only works while you are taking it.
I have people come in all the time with their blood pressure high after we originally had
it controlled telling me that they stopped the medicine because we fixed it.
Unfortunately, this isn't the way it works.
Unless you have some underlying lifestyle issues that are causing your high blood pressure
and you fix those, you need to stay on these medications.
Don't stop them unless you discuss it with your doctor.
Amlodipine is one of my favorite blood pressure medications because it usually is very well
tolerated.
It's rare the patient that I have that stops it because of any significant side effects.
That being said, any medication has a potential for side effects and amlodipine is no different.
The most common side effects that we tend to see with amlodipine are some leg swelling,
fatigue, palpitations, dizziness, nausea, skin flushing and sometimes some dry skin.
Of all of these the one that I see the most common is the leg and ankle swelling.
The reason this happens it that the medicine relaxes the blood vessels.
Small vessels in the legs will dilate and allow fluid to leak through and cause some
swelling.
It is usually mild and oftentimes will go away after a couple weeks but in some it may
persist and be bothersome.
If it is, talk to your doctor about your options.
The other thing that we may see is the dizziness.
This usually is a sign that the medication is working too well.
If this happens typically you notice that when you stand up you get that head rush feeling
and may feel like you are going to pass out.
If this is happening, concentrate on standing up slower, check your blood pressures and
bring those into your doctor so you can talk about it.
Sometimes all you need to do is adjust the dose.
There are more some more serious albeit rare reactions that you should be aware of and
watch for.
We already mentioned low blood pressure but some people can have more of a significant
drop that is more difficult to bring up, It can cause inflammation of the liver, an allergic
reaction and a rare raised rash that often can form on the legs.
If these symptoms happen then you need to be in touch with your doctor right away.
Overall this is a great medication to treat blood pressure.
I use it a lot because as I said before, the side effects tend to be minimal, it has great
studies showing that not only does it lower your blood pressure but it also helps significantly
decrease your risk of heart disease and stroke and finally it's pretty cheap.
Luckily its generic and you can get it for a good price.
In fact a 30 day supply at the local Walmart will only cost you $4.
If diet and lifestyle changes have not been enough to control your blood pressure and
your doctor recommends that you take amlodipine as part of your treatment regimen, hopefully
you have a little more confidence in using this as a part of your treatment plan.
This certainly isn't an all inclusive and in-depth discussion of everything that could
be told about this medication.
That's not what I'm trying to do here.
My purpose in sharing this information is to help give information that you can think
about and discuss with your own doctor.
Please don't take this as direct medical advice.
Take everything you learned today and discuss it with your doctor in how it applies to your
own situation.
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Now don't go anywhere, because if you are looking at ways that you can make that start
in your diet and lifestyle changes to treat your blood pressure click here to watch simple
steps you can take to start your diet journey.
If you are looking for other ways you can save money on your healthcare then click here.
So until next tine, this is FamilyMed with Dr. Richardson and remember to take care of
your body because it's the only one you have.