$Unique_ID{BRK00167}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Why are Old Water Pills "No Good" for My High Blood Pressure?}
$Subject{water pills medication Circulatory System Old drug drugs Blood
Pressure pressures Medicine Medicines water-pill diuretic thiazide medications
hypertension hypertensive diuretics water-pills}
$Volume{R-7}
$Log{
Anatomy of Blood Pressure*0009501.scf
Causative Factors of Hypertension*0009601.scf}

Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993   Tribune Media Services, Inc.


Why are Old Water Pills "No Good" for My High Blood Pressure?


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QUESTION:  I have been taking a water pill for my high blood pressure for a
long time.  However when I went to my new doctor for the first time, he
changed my medication, merely stating that my old pills were "no good".  I
never had trouble with this medicine, so could you explain why it should be
changed?

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ANSWER:  Medicine is constantly changing, discovering new and more effective
medications, and finding out even more about the older ones.  Your
"water-pill" or diuretic (promotes the excretion of urine) was most probably a
chemical called a "thiazide".  For more than thirty years, this class of
medications was the first choice in treating hypertension, for they were
effective for most patients, and were inexpensive.  However, as time
progressed and the results of treating hypertensive patients with thiazide
diuretics were tabulated, it was noted that though strokes were reduced in
these patients, there was no decrease in the number of heart related diseases
that should also have diminished.  It has been shown that total and low
density lipoprotein (LDL) increased in these patients, and could be the factor
increasing cardiac disease risk.  Since newer drugs now exist that can do the
job of lowering blood pressure, and reducing cardiac risks, many physicians
are reevaluating their use of this medication in their patients.  However, the
thiazide diuretics have been extremely effective for many patients over an
extremely long period of time, and some of the less desirable characteristics
can be overcome by simple adjustments in diet, for example.  In your case, it
would seem that your new physician has decided a change was best for you, a
situation that may not be the case in other individuals successfully
controlled by water pills.  Their doctors may choose not to repair what is not
broken.

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The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician.  Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.