Alternative medicine (1)
- Herbal supplements may not mix with heart medicines
Complications (7)
- Thoracic aortic aneurysm
- Brain aneurysm
- Enlarged heart
- see all in Complications
Lifestyle and home remedies (10)
- DASH diet: Tips for shopping and cooking
- DASH diet: Tips for dining out
- Exercise: A drug-free approach to lowering high blood pressure
- see all in Lifestyle and home remedies
Symptoms (1)
- Symptom Checker
Tests and diagnosis (3)
- Blood pressure chart: What your reading means
- Microalbumin test
- Blood pressure test
Treatments and drugs (9)
- Angiotensin II receptor blockers
- Beta blockers
- Calcium channel blockers
- see all in Treatments and drugs
Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Vasodilators
Vasodilators treat a variety of conditions, including high blood pressure. Find out more about this class of medication.
By Mayo Clinic staffVasodilators are medications that open (dilate) blood vessels. They work directly on the muscles in the walls of your arteries, preventing the muscles from tightening and the walls from narrowing. As a result, blood flows more easily through your arteries, your heart doesn't have to pump as hard and your blood pressure is reduced.
Examples of vasodilators
Several vasodilators are available. Which one is best for you depends on your health and the condition being treated.
Examples of vasodilators include:
- Hydralazine
- Minoxidil (in pill form)
(1 of 2)
References
- Flynn JT. Treatment of high blood pressure: Drug therapy. In: Kaplan NM, et al. Kaplan's Clinical Hypertension. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2010:192.
- Types of blood pressure medications. American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/PreventionTreatmentofHighBloodPressure/Types-of-Blood-Pressure-Medications_UCM_303247_Article.jsp. Accessed Sept. 30, 2010.
- High blood pressure: Medicines to help you. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/byaudience/forwomen/ucm118594.htm. Accessed Sept. 30, 2010.
- Kaplan NM, et al. Indications and contraindications to the use of specific antihypertensive drugs. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 30, 2010.
- Chobanian AV, et al. The seventh report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. New England Journal of Medicine. 2003;289:2560.
Find Mayo Clinic on