Why is amlodipine often used among dihydropyridine drugs when treating hypertension?

A friend told Huazi that he had discovered that several of his friends suffered from high blood pressure, and the medicine prescribed by the doctor was amlodipine. Why is this medicine so commonly used? What are its characteristics? Huazi said that among dipine antihypertensive drugs, amlodipine is a commonly used drug because of its long half-life and low price.

In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated amlodipine as the preferred drug for the treatment of hypertension and recommended it as the starting drug for monotherapy of hypertension.

1. Characteristics of Amlodipine

Amlodipine is a commonly used antihypertensive drug in clinical practice, which is the result of comprehensive consideration of many aspects. Dihydrotestosterone is a commonly used antihypertensive drug in clinical practice. Compared with other antihypertensive drugs, dihydrotestosterone has a definite effect, no absolute contraindications, and the lowest risk of use.

Among dihydropyridine drugs, the half-life of amlodipine in the blood is very long, which is more than 36 hours under normal circumstances, and more than 50 hours when used in the elderly. The long half-life means that the blood concentration changes little, and taking the drug once a day can produce a long-term antihypertensive effect, and has a good control effect on nocturnal hypertension and morning peak hypertension.

Moreover, amlodipine has been included in national centralized procurement, and its price is now very cheap, with the daily cost of medication being only a few cents.

2. Pay attention to adverse reactions when taking medication

1. Short-term adverse reactions:

Dihydropyridine drugs have a significant effect on vasodilation, which may cause a sudden drop in blood pressure and induce neuroreflex tachycardia in the early stages of medication. In addition, cerebral vasodilation can cause dizziness and headaches, and facial vasodilation can cause facial flushing.

However, these adverse reactions usually only occur in the early stages of medication. With continued medication, after about a month, the human body will gradually adapt to lower blood pressure and vasodilation, and the above adverse reactions will gradually decrease or disappear.

Young and middle-aged people with hypertension may have problems with tachycardia. If they need to use amlodipine, they can use it in combination with lorepine drugs under the guidance of a doctor to lower the heart rate and offset the adverse reactions of tachycardia caused by amlodipine drugs.

2. Long-term adverse reactions:

Long-term use of amlodipine may cause lower limb edema and gingival hyperplasia.

The main reason for lower limb edema is that dihydropyridine drugs significantly dilate small arteries, but have no effect on small veins, resulting in insufficient venous return. You can consider using it in combination with "pril" or "sartan" to dilate small veins and promote reflux, which can reduce or eliminate lower limb edema. You can also use diuretics in combination to excrete excess water and sodium and reduce edema.

Gingival hyperplasia caused by amlodipine is the result of the combined stimulation of the drug and dental plaque. During the medication period, you need to pay attention to oral hygiene, brush your teeth carefully, use dental floss, and use a dental cleaning machine to thoroughly remove dental plaque, which can reduce 70% of gum problems.

3. Precautions during medication

During the medication period, do not relax the monitoring of blood pressure. Medication adjustments need to be made according to blood pressure conditions. It is recommended that each medication adjustment be spaced at least 2 weeks apart.

After taking amlodipine, it takes about 7 to 10 days for the blood concentration of amlodipine to reach the "plateau value" and exert the best antihypertensive effect. Therefore, it is normal to have blood pressure fluctuations in the early stage of medication or when adjusting the dosage. It is necessary to continue taking the medicine for about a week to determine the effect of the medicine.

Levoamlodipine has a stronger antihypertensive effect than amlodipine and has fewer adverse reactions. People who are worried about the adverse reactions of amlodipine can choose levoamlodipine, but it is more expensive.

If you miss a dose of medicine occasionally during the medication period, you can take it immediately on the same day. If you find that you missed a dose on the second day, do not double the dose, just take the normal dose for the day.

In summary, amlodipine has a high "appearance rate" among dihydropyridine drugs because of its long-lasting efficacy, high safety, and low price. It is also selected by WHO as the preferred drug for antihypertensive treatment. When taking the drug, it can be used in combination with other antihypertensive drugs under the guidance of a doctor to reduce the occurrence of adverse reactions. If you have any questions about the use of the drug, please consult a doctor or pharmacist. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.