CCBs
Posted , 4 users are following.
Having read a number of threads here over the last few months, there seem to be some quite knowledgeable people regarding CCBs. Although I've been taking these for just over 18 months now, I'm not really sure why I'm taking them, as opposed to a 'normal' HBP medication. Many years ago I used to take atenolol which is what I would describe as 'normal'.
I will say that I am taking these along with seven othe prescription medications. It would probably help if I stated my condition, which I will do, but initially, I'd like to know what the 'generic' use of them, compared to non CCB HBP medication is.
1 like, 4 replies
misswoosie RHGB
Posted
Hi.Atenolol is a Beta blocker. They're now regarded as a bit of an "old fashioned" drug for hypertension. There are newer and better (from clinical trials) drugs around and i don't think any of the National guidelines available for controlling hypertension recommennd them as first line treatment anymore. They can cause side effects of feeling very tired, no energy etc and they are also used to regulate (slow) the heart rate for example in Atrial fibrillation, which may be undesirable in someone with high BP who doesn't need their heart rate lowered! In older people they can also (for this reason) be a risk factor for falls due to postural hypotension ie when someone stands up quickly, the mechanisms to allow their body to control their BP are blocked and therfore the BP falls too low, and they feel dizzy or faint and fall) Calcium channel blockers not only help to reduce BP, but also help to prevent and treat heart failure. As people get older, sometimes signs of some mild heart failure (shortness of breath, puffy ankles etc) can start to develop and a CCB might be a better choice for them. BTW , you shouldn't drink Grapefruit juice if you're on CCBs as it increases the amount of the drug which is absorbed into the blood stream.
RHGB misswoosie
Posted
I'm old fashioned and I kind of like old fashioned things. I do understand that you are trying to give me the benefit of your medical experience.
But I am on CCB and BB combined. Felodipine (previously amlodipine) and Carvedilol. Amlodipine is well known for causing 'puffy ankles' although I prefer the term peripheral oedema. So it actually causes or exacerbates the problem.
But then I also take spironolactone for that. Once again, I do appreciate your reply, I am just left feeling a bit 'lost' at the ability of the medical profession to understand the reasoning behind prescription medications. Two years on from hospital, I have not had a medications review and I'm still taking exactly the same medications after all this time (more than I have mentioned in this thread).
Even the pharmacist at a well known hight street chemist called me in for a review and said that I needed to change from amlodipine.
A year after leaving hospital, my GP surgery wanted to put me on aspirin, even though I had a bleed on the brain stroke (and I have a low platelet count) rather than a TIA/clot. I declined.
I had a gastroscopy this week, and they took my blood pressure twice, 115/78 and 108/64 and I emailed this to my GP. To get those readings in a hospital just before a minor op, would set alarm bells ringing to me, if I was a GP I would want that person in to do a BP check myself, but I doubt I'll hear anything. I will eventually take matters into my own hands.
And I know what low BP is like, they annoyed me so much in hospital doing obs every four hours, including 2:00am, that one night I pushed it right down to 77/54 (it is recorded in my notes) and had the ward manager at my bed at 7:00am giving me a hard time over it.
Also, when I came out of hospital, I got up out of bed like a shot one morning and strided over to the curtains to open them and the room started to spin and I blacked out and fell. Luckily I was next to the built in wardrobe, so I hit that hard with my back and slid down it onto the floor.
acuteabdo RHGB
Posted
It very much sounds like you need to see your GP to review your medications. As it has been mentioned Calcium channel blockers are first line treatment for many people with high blood pressure, and Beta blockers are very rarely used now, and if used are in the third line of treatment, but even then alpha blockers dominate.
The reason for the change is evidence based and this is what NICE guidlines recommend. Beta blockers do have a place in medicine but not really for the treatment of hypertension.
Ankle oedema is a very common side effect, and you should discuss this with your GP and you may be put onto different medication. it sounds like you may need a reduction in BP medication.
To conclude you should make an appointment with your GP to ammend your medication if you are concerned about it.
Best wishes
J
Laroxe RHGB
Posted
Yes, people are right, beta blockers have been relegated to second line therapies. When they assess drugs tehy look at a number of things, the most obvious is how effective they are and side effects but they also look at what they call endpoints. These include the adverse health effects of high blood pressure like strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure, heart failure and of course death. So a drug might lower the BP but have no effect on the endpoints. Generally drugs like CCB's, ACE inhibitors, ARB's and some diuretics tend to have much more of an effect on preventing or even treating some of these endpoints. CCB's are best when hypertension is due to arterial resistance due to "stiffness" of the arterial walls, which naturally increases with age and is more common in Afro Caribeans, there are other issues about the ways the drugs work or how they might be combined that also influence the Dr's choices. Hope this makes sense.