What Medications May Treat Hypotension?

Patients may have hypotension if their blood pressure is consistently at 90/60 or lower. This condition seems to develop for many reasons. Potential causes may include dehydration, blood loss, and septicemia. Vitamin deficiencies, such as in iron or vitamin B12, may trigger low blood pressure as well. Diabetes patients and seniors may be at a higher risk of this condition than others. Untreated, hypotension may trigger fainting and dizziness. Severely low readings may cause brain and heart damage.

Patients may need to consume more salt as a hypotension treatment. Sometimes, another natural treatment for low blood pressure is drinking more water as well. Some patients seem to benefit from wearing compression stockings too. However, some individuals may need blood pressure medication. They may want to understand the common options for hypotension medication first.

Fludrocortisone

Fludrocortisone seems to be a common corticosteroid for this condition. It may help treat Addison's disease as well. This drug appears to lower how much salt patients get rid of through their urine. Unfortunately, this medication may not be safe for everyone. Patients with fungal infections do not seem to be able to take it. Individuals may also want to talk about their medical history with a doctor first. It appears that stomach ulcers, kidney disease, diabetes, glaucoma, and other issues make this medication unsafe for some individuals.

This drug may have several possible side effects. Common ones seem to include salt and water retention, slow wound healing, stomach ulcers, and easy bruising. Patients may want to tell their doctor right away about some side effects, including seizures, blurry vision, lower limb swelling, eye pain, and severe abdominal pain. Low potassium may be another side effect, and patients should consider getting prompt treatment for signs of this. The symptoms may include leg cramps, an irregular heartbeat, muscle weakness, and fluttering in the chest.

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Midodrine

Midodrine may help treat orthostatic hypotension. It seems that this condition is a sudden blood pressure drop upon standing. This medication may help stimulate nerve endings in blood vessels. Thus, the blood vessels should tighten. Ultimately, this medication should increase the patient's blood pressure, though patients may experience some side effects. Potential effects may include chills, skin tingling, frequent urination, and stomach pain. These appear to be common. This drug's less common side effects seem to include insomnia, dizziness, leg cramps, dry mouth, and drowsiness.

Patients may take this medication three times daily. However, doses seem to need to be at least three hours apart. Individuals should take their last dose before 6 p.m. as well. This medication does not seem to be suitable before naps or bedtime. This may be because it increases their blood pressure when lying down. Doctors seem to recommend raising the head of the bed to help. This medication appears to interact with beta-blockers and alpha-blockers. Patients may want to talk about their current medications with their doctor before taking this one to prevent other possible interactions.

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Norepinephrine

Norepinephrine may treat life-threatening low blood pressure. This medication seems to be offered through an intravenous line. Patients may receive it in the emergency room, intensive care unit, and during cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. This drug may help sepsis patients. It seems to be good for individuals with low blood pressure because of hemodialysis as well. However, this medication may be unsafe for some individuals. Points of concern appear to include a history of diabetes, asthma, sulfite allergies, and coronary artery disease.

Doctors should monitor a patient's respiration and blood pressure when they give them this medication. The drug may cause tissue damage around the injection site. This seems to happen if the medication leaks from the patient's vein. Patients should tell their doctor if they deal with any symptoms around the injection site. These symptoms may include feeling cold in their veins or skin, pain, and irritation.

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Droxidopa

Droxidopa may help neurogenic orthostatic hypotension. This condition seems to come from other diseases. Examples appear to include Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy. Patients may take this drug as a capsule. It seems to work by narrowing their blood vessels. However, this medication may have significant side effects. Thus, doctors may start patients on a low dose to lower the risk. They may increase the dose gradually. Patients seem to need this medication three times daily, but not within three hours of bedtime. They also appear to be limited to two weeks on this drug.

The common side effects of this medicine seem to be dizziness, nausea, and headaches. Patients may want to tell their doctor if these become persistent or severe. Their doctor should know immediately about certain side effects. These appear to include cloudy urine, bladder pain, lower back pain, and painful urination. Doctors should monitor the patient's blood pressure closely when they are on this medication. However, individuals may want to monitor their pressure regularly at home as well. They should consider reporting these results to their doctor. Patients on this drug may benefit from elevating the head of their bed when they go to sleep.

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Phenylephrine

A phenylephrine injection may help patients with low blood pressure during surgery. This intravenous medication may help increase a patient's blood pressure to a safe level. However, patients may need to be monitored closely when they are given this drug. They may need blood tests. This medication appears to have several side effects. A serious one seems to be a depression under the skin where the drug was injected. This may also be called necrosis, and it appears to be permanent. Patients may want to tell their nurses and doctor immediately if they spot this. Other concerns that may merit this seem to include skin peeling, pain, redness, as well as blue-green or black skin discoloration around the injection site.

This drug appears to have many other possible side effects. They may include stomach pain, anxiety, excess fluid in the lungs, reduced urinary output, headaches, and nausea. Patients should consider reviewing their current medications and supplements with a doctor before receiving this drug. It seems that they can be at risk of severe side effects due to possible medication interactions. Examples of possible interactions may include tranylcypromine and linezolid.