Can’t I stop taking my high blood pressure medicine?

Hypertension is a difficult to reversible disease. Once you have it, it will accompany you for life. Hypertension is very common in my country. Many people suffer from it. Patients with hypertension need to take antihypertensive drugs for a long time. Can patients with hypertension stop taking their drugs? Let us find out below.

The current antihypertensive drug treatment is nothing more than a symptomatic treatment measure. It can control blood pressure while taking the medicine, and blood pressure often returns to the level before taking the medicine after stopping the medicine. Therefore, in order to ensure normal blood pressure, people with hypertension generally need to take antihypertensive drugs for a long time to maintain treatment, so you need to pay attention to the following points when stopping the medication!

First: The most basic principle of treating hypertension is to insist on taking the minimum necessary amount of antihypertensive drugs, that is, after controlling blood pressure to stabilize at an appropriate level, use the existing plan to maintain treatment for a long time. If you can adjust your lifestyle behaviors at the same time, such as limiting salt intake, exercising properly and losing weight, the dosage of antihypertensive drugs can be gradually reduced.

Second: Those who maintain blood pressure at an appropriate level for at least one year and can adhere to the above-mentioned measures such as salt restriction, exercise and weight control. Under this principle, the types and dosages of antihypertensive drugs can be reduced prudently and appropriately. For patients who use many types of medications or high doses, the dosage should be gradually reduced in stages to prevent blood pressure rebound and increase the difficulty of further treatment.

Third: Since elderly patients have slower metabolism or less excretion of drugs in the liver and kidneys, they should be alert to the possibility that drug accumulation may enhance the effects of antihypertensive drugs. At the same time, the tolerance of important organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys to ischemia is reduced. Therefore, antihypertensive drugs should be started with a small dose, and blood pressure should be lowered slowly and steadily to prevent hypotension.

Fourth: The extreme case of reducing the dosage of antihypertensive drugs is to stop taking the drugs. About 10% to 20% of patients with mild to moderate hypertension may stop taking antihypertensive drugs. Generally, those who use a small dose of a single antihypertensive drug for maintenance treatment are very likely to stop taking antihypertensive drugs. However, discontinuation of medication should be done cautiously under the guidance of a physician.

Fifth: After stopping the medication, you should continue to monitor your blood pressure regularly and correct bad living habits, such as not smoking, drinking less, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, controlling your weight, etc. Otherwise, your blood pressure will easily rise again. After controlling blood pressure within the ideal range, you should still monitor blood pressure regularly, adjust the type and dosage of antihypertensive drugs in a timely manner, and insist on taking the minimum necessary amount of antihypertensive drugs to maintain treatment. Inappropriate discontinuation of antihypertensive drugs may lead to rebound blood pressure and make treatment difficult.