What foods should not be eaten with amlodipine?

Living in the modern world has two sides. The good side is that healthcare facilities and medical knowledge become more sophisticated and available to all but the bad side is the modern way of life itself is emphasising on unhealthy ways of life and emergence of metabolic disease as a result. There are many medicines available to help treat the many metabolic diseases. Medicines such as Azoren 40 mg are among the common medications used in the medical field in treating metabolic diseases. It is important to treat metabolic diseases as its complications can be debilitating or even life-threatening when left untreated.

Hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure of more than 130 mmHg and a diastolic blood pressure of more than 80 mmHg. Systolic pressure is caused by a force because the heart squeezes blood up to the arteries, and diastolic pressures are produced when the heart rests within beats. Essential hypertension is defined as persistently high blood pressure with no identifiable causes. It is also known as primary hypertension.Hypertension is diagnosed when there are three or more blood pressure readings that show high blood pressure and the readings are taken at least three times or more on separate visits throughout weeks.

The smaller arteries, or also called arterioles, are narrowed in hypertension. In order to circulate blood through a narrowed space in the walls of the blood vessels, tightened or tight arterioles could cause heart muscles to work harder. This results in a rise of pressure inside the blood vessels. The artery wall is damaged as time goes on by the powerful force of blood pressure. This, in turn, leads to the formation of a plaque that has deposited cholesterol on the shattered wall and causes high blood pressure which is caused by artery narrowing.

Hypertension is known as a silent-killer. A person with hypertension often does not have symptoms unless the hypertension has caused complications such as kidney failure or heart disease. This means that hypertension does cause damage to organs when it is left untreated. It is estimated that less than half of adults with hypertension are diagnosed and treated. Hence, the best thing a person should do is to get regular medical check-ups to identify this disease early on. A person with hypertension should get diagnosed properly so that they can receive treatment and prevent complications.

Treatment of essential hypertension not only relied on medication. In fact, the recommended initial treatment is better lifestyle management. This includes making adjustments to their lifestyle such as regular physical activity, eating healthy food emphasising on reduced sodium diet and to keep a healthy body weight. Lifestyle changes alone make up to 15% reduction of risk for heart diseases related to hypertension. Lifestyle change is often difficult to be done consistently although it is shown that continuous changes would be the effective treatment for hypertension. Smoking cessation may not have a direct effect on blood pressure but doing this can definitely reduce the risk for complications caused by hypertension.

One of the common drugs used to treat hypertension contained amlodipine. Amlodipine belongs to the calcium channel blocker (CCB) drug class. It works by preventing calcium from entering into the heart’s cell and blood vessels. Eventually, it will cause the blood vessels to relax and high blood pressure is lowered. By lowering the high blood pressure, a person will have less risk for heart attack, strokes and kidney problems that stems from the dysfunction of the blood vessels and heart due to the high blood pressure.

Amlodipine is usually taken one time a day. There is no specific time to take this medicine but it is best to take it at the same time of the day. Taking it regularly at the same time everyday can help keep the medicine in the body to work optimally. Patients should not stop taking this medicine if they are not asked to do so by their doctor. Abrupt stop can cause rebound high blood pressure which means the blood pressure will spike higher than ever before. Patients need to take this medicine continuously despite feeling alright.

Patients might wonder if there are restrictions or things to be wary of when taking this amlodipine. While in general there is no food or drink that should not be eaten when taking amlodipine, patients need to avoid grapefruit juice or food containing the substance. Grapefruit may affect amlodipine when taken together. It also may pose a higher chance for side effects. Common side effects include fatigue, headache, nausea, upset stomach, flushing and swelling of the limbs. Patients should seek medical advice if side effects get worse or severe. If a patient has other medical conditions or is taking other medication and/or supplements, they need to notify their doctor first before taking amlodipine.

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