Posted by johnsmith12345 on January 25, 2005, at 4:16:11
In reply to Re: Hypertensive Crisis on Parnate, How to stop it, posted by alienatari on January 25, 2005, at 3:46:22
The most popular one I know of is procardia (nifedipine). But, some caution against its use because it drops blood pressure very rapidly and can cause complications.
Thorazine is also recommended for this purpose, but the standard caveats about taking antipsychotics apply.
Captopril, another antihypertensive medicine, is slightly slower than nifedipine at dropping blood pressure but it overall as effective. Besides, I think the difference is like 20 mins vs 10 mins. Compared to the 60 mins it takes to see a doctor at the emergency room, this is unimportant. Also the risk of complications is much less than with nifedipine. This is the medication I have chosen for myself in case of a hypertensive crisis.
If you are going to use any of these medications, purchase an automatic home blood pressure monitor that fits around your arm (not wrist or finger) and become accustomed to its use.
There are a lot of stories on the boards about people having hypertensive crises, going to the ER, and not getting proper care. If I were you, I would have one of these emergency medications around, to take on the way to the ER.
poster:johnsmith12345
thread:446602
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050124/msgs/447243.html