WebMD HomeHeart Health CenterHypertension / High Blood Pressure Health Center

Email a Friend

Print Article

Hypertension/High Blood Pressure Health Center

Tools & Resources

• Hypertension DASH Diet
• A Visual Guide to Heart Disease
• 24 Foods to Help Your Heart
• BP & ED: What's the Link?
• Home-Monitor Your Blood Pressure
• Blood Pressure Medication Tips

Step 1 of 6


Action Set

High Blood Pressure: Taking Medicines Properly

• Make your medicine schedule as simple as you can. Take your medicines when you are doing other things, like eating a meal or getting ready for bed. This will make it easier for you to remember to take them.
• Take a list of your medicines—or bring your medicines with you—when you visit your doctor. Include any medicines that were prescribed by other doctors and all your nonprescription medicines including vitamins and supplements. Review the list with your doctor, and discuss any side effects you are having or need to watch for.
• Talk with your doctor if you are having problems with your medicine schedule. Your doctor may be able to change your medicines or change the times you take them.
• Talk with your doctor if you have any changes in your health that might affect your blood pressure, such as weight gain, side effects of medicines, or another medical problem.
• Consider daily or weekly pill containers. These can help you remember which medicines to take and when to take them.
• Follow healthy lifestyle habits. These include staying at a healthy weight, exercising, not smoking, and following a healthy eating plan. If you do these things, your doctor may be able to reduce the amount of medicine you take. And the medicines may work better.

 How can you take your blood pressure medicines properly?

Up Next in This Action Set:

How can you take your blood pressure medicines properly?

Step 4 of 6


Action Set

Credits

Medicines work really well to control high blood pressure in most people. But they won't work if you don't take them as directed. Here's how you can get started on taking your medicines properly.

Get organized

It may not be too hard for most people to remember to take just one pill a day. But if you start adding more pills—pills that you need to take at different times and in different doses—it can get confusing.

A key to taking your medicines properly is to stay organized:

• Make a list. Make a written or typed list of everymedicine you take, including things like aspirin andvitamins. Keep it up to date. Take a copy with youevery time you go to the doctor.Use a form(What is a PDF document?). Include space towrite down any side effects you have.
• Make a schedule. Make awritten or typed daily schedule of when you should take each of your medicines.Put it where you can easily see it every day—on the door of yourmedicine cabinet, for example.Use a daily planner(What is a PDF document?). Take it along when you travel.
• Use a pillbox. Pillboxes canreally help you keep track of your pills. Some hold a week's worth, withseparate compartments for morning, noon, evening, andbedtime.
• Use alarms.Set your computer, wristwatch, or cell phone to beep when it's time to takeyour pills.
• Simplify. Ask your doctor if you canmake your pill schedule simpler. For example, maybe you could takeone longer-acting pill every day instead of several shorter-actingones.
• Control costs. Compare prices between severaldrugstores, and consider mail-orderdrugstores. Ask your doctor if there is a generic brand you can take to savemoney.

Become an expert

The more you know about your medicines, the easier it will be to stay on your schedule and take your pills properly.

• Know yourmedicines. Have your doctor clearly explain whateach medicine does. Write down both thebrand andgeneric names. Have your doctor check the list. Youcan use this list to verify that the medicines you get from the pharmacy arecorrect.
• Store medicines properly. Yourdoctor or pharmacist can tell you how to store yourmedicines. Don't let your medicines get too hot or toocold. Always store them out of the reach ofchildren.
• Watch for side effects. Ask yourdoctor or pharmacist about what side effects to expect. Write themdown if you don't think you'll be able to remember them. Be sure totell your doctor if you have side effects.
• Have a plan for missed doses. Talk withyour doctor about what you should do if you accidentally miss a dose of amedicine. Discuss what to do for each medicine, because it may be different foreach one. Write it down.
• Talk to your doctor before you start taking other medicines. This includes other prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Some medicinescan interact with each other and keep blood pressure medicines from workingright. Or they can cause a bad reaction. Medicines thatcould cause a problem include:
  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (for example, Advil or Motrin), indomethacin (Indocin), ketoprofen, naproxen (for example, Aleve or Naprosyn), and piroxicam (Feldene).
  • Decongestants, such as pseudoephedrine (for example, Sudafed).
  • Cold and flu medicines. These often contain decongestants and NSAIDs.
  • Antacids and other stomach medicines, which are often high in sodium.
  • Herbal or homeopathic remedies.

For more information, see:

• High Blood Pressure: Over-the-Counter Medicines to Avoid.
• Taking Medicines as Prescribed.
• Dealing With Medicine Side Effects and Interactions.

Return to High Blood Pressure: Taking Medicines Properly

Up Next in This Action Set:



Step 6 of 6


Action Set

See More Popular Action Sets

ByHealthwise Staff
Primary Medical ReviewerE. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical ReviewerRobert A. Kloner, MD, PhD - Cardiology

Current as ofMarch 12, 2014