Pharmacologic Substance
antihypertensive agent Audio
[ an-tee-hahy-per-ten-siv, an-tahy- ey-juhnt ]
Subclass of:
Cardiovascular Agents
Also called:
Antihypertensive medicines; High blood pressure medicines
Definitions related to antihypertensive agents:
  • (antihypertensives) Medications used to lower and control high blood pressure.
    Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
    Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
  • Agent that reduces high blood pressure.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Any substance used in the treatment of acute or chronic hypertension regardless of pharmacological mechanism. Antihypertensive agents include diuretics, alpha-adrenergic and beta-adrenergic antagonists, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, ganglionic blockers, and vasodilator agents.
    NCI Thesaurus
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Drugs used in the treatment of acute or chronic vascular HYPERTENSION regardless of pharmacological mechanism. Among the antihypertensive agents are DIURETICS; (especially DIURETICS, THIAZIDE); ADRENERGIC BETA-ANTAGONISTS; ADRENERGIC ALPHA-ANTAGONISTS; ANGIOTENSIN-CONVERTING ENZYME INHIBITORS; CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS; GANGLIONIC BLOCKERS; and VASODILATOR AGENTS.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
  • (blood pressure medicines) High blood pressure, also called hypertension, usually has no symptoms. But it can cause serious problems such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure. If you cannot control your high blood pressure through lifestyle changes such as losing weight and reducing sodium in your diet, you may need medicines. Blood pressure medicines work in different ways to lower blood pressure. Some remove extra fluid and salt from the body. Others slow down the heartbeat or relax and widen blood vessels. Often, two or more medicines work better than one. NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
    MedlinePlus
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
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