hello all you healthy blood pressure warriors my name is david fry and i'm the founder of healthybloodpressure.com and now before i start this video i need to give you a disclaimer and here it is okay thanks for your patience in this video i'm going to talk about one of the common medications that doctors prescribe to control high blood pressure there's a lot of different types of medications that doctors prescribe to reduce blood pressure the medication i'm going to talk about in this video is called losartan and i'm going to talk about how losartan works its
side effects dosages interactions and just tackle some frequently asked questions about it losartan's a medication that's commonly manufactured by the brand cozar it's a low-cost generic medication that's often prescribed as a replacement option for other blood pressure medications so if you've already been taking a medication every day for hypertension and it's giving you bad side effects your doctor is likely to switch you to losartan although its main job is to lower high blood pressure losartan has other uses as well for instance if you're a diabetic and you deal with high blood pressure losartan might be
the right medication for you this is because it protects your kidneys from damage caused due to high blood sugar okay so now let's talk about how losartan works okay one way to lower blood pressure is to block the angiotensin ii receptor angiotensin blockers are also called arbs which is an acronym for angiotensin receptor blocker angiotensin ii is a hormone in the body that narrows your blood vessels which increases your blood pressure angiotensin ii also stimulates salt and water retention in the body which further increases blood pressure so by blocking angiotensin ii it stops your blood
vessels from narrowing and allows your blood vessels to relax causing your blood to flow more freely through your arteries and that's what losartan does it blocks the receptors of angiotensin ii and that's why doctors prescribe it to people who are suffering from high blood pressure here's a few facts about losartan although losartan is safe for most adults in some cases it's not so who is losartan not good for well for example it protects the kidneys from negative effects of diabetes but for those with different kinds of kidney problems it can actually worsen the condition losartan
isn't safe for pregnant women either it's actually been known to cause birth defects breastfeeding women should avoid this medication too it's also not suitable medication for children below six years old so why do some doctors choose losartan over other medications well one of the most common reasons your doctor might have to switch losartan is it has lower side effects than other high blood pressure medications if you've been on medications such as lacinopril you may have experienced dry cough and swelling that's why a lot of doctors will take their patients off of lycinapril and put them
on losartan plus it has added benefits of protecting the kidneys in the heart losartan does have some side effects although the common side effects are manageable and usually go away as your body starts getting used to the medication in some people the side effects include dizziness nausea headache diarrhea and joint pain sometimes the medication increases potassium levels in the blood that eventually harm your heart losartan can also cause some serious side effects in rare cases if you notice yellowing of the skin breathing difficulties severe weakness abdominal pain skin rash or swelling talk to your doctor
immediately okay what are the dosages you can expect to take of losartan well usually doctors prescribe either a 50 milligram or 100 milligram tablet of losartan to be taken once per day to control your high blood pressure whatever dosage your doctor prescribes please stick with that dosage if you slip up and you forget to take your pill that day don't worry just take it as soon as you remember but just make sure that there's a sufficient time gap between the dose that you're taking now and your usual time of your next dose whenever i mess
up and forget to take my kidney transplant medications if it's not close to the next time i'm supposed to take them i'll just go ahead and take them right then but if it's close to the time i'm supposed to take them i'll just wait until that time and just carry on alright the next question you might have is how long does it take to see results from taking losartan well you'll probably start seeing improvements in about three weeks or less but sometimes it could last longer if it's been six weeks you don't see any improvement
in your side effects talk to your doctor in that case that type of blood pressure medication might not be right for you your doctor will decide that and be sure to measure your blood pressure before you go asking for a change of medication though going just by the physical symptoms doesn't always work all right what if losartan does work for you do you have to take it for the rest of your life well the answer to that is most likely yes you could change your lifestyle habits to be more healthy and that could definitely lower
your blood pressure but unless your doctor decides to change your medication you always want to stay on it by the way if you do end up making some lifestyle decisions and you become a lot healthier there's a good chance that your doctor will take you off those meds okay let's answer a few common questions about losartan many of you might be confused as to whether losartan is good or bad for your kidneys losartan is generally safe for those with no kidney diseases it also does a good job of preventing kidney failure for people with diabetes
however if you have a history of kidney-related diseases losartan can make it worse your doctor will periodically check your kidney function while you're on losartan to make sure that everything's okay okay how do you take losartan well it's as simple as taking a pill every day with a glass of water you can take it either with or without food but the important thing is that you take the pill at the same time every day recent research advises to take your blood pressure meds in the evening before you go to bed the research says when you
do that you have less risk of illness or death due to heart or blood vessel disease but don't take that as blanket advice always take your meds at the time that your doctor tells you to all right what happens if you forget to take your meds that happens to me every now and then and if it happens to you get a pill organizer or a pill reminder app missing a dosage once in a blue moon probably isn't going to cause any serious issue but if it happens regularly then you do have a problem because that
can lead to serious consequences for your health another question is are there any foods or drinks that you should avoid while you're taking losartan and the answer is there's no restrictions when it comes to food but a word of caution on low sodium salt low sodium salt typically has a high amount of potassium and losartan tends to increase potassium levels in your blood so it's not a good idea to add more potassium to your diet when you're taking losartan when it comes to drinking alcohol it may interact with the effects of this medication it's best
to lower your alcohol intake or completely avoid it altogether losartan doesn't interact with any food and doesn't affect your digestion in any way well except for diarrhea as a mild side effect in some people and again that should go away once your body adjusts to the medication so it's safe to take your pill any time of the day whether on an empty stomach or a full one okay another question is how about other medications and pain relievers do any of them interact with losartan well it's best to always list out all your medications and give
them to your doctor before your doctor prescribes losartan it could interfere with other blood pressure medications and medications like diuretics or mental health medications and most painkillers actually and also blood thinners so your doctor should absolutely know what other medications you're taking if you think you have to take a painkiller stick to tylenol and aspirin in lower doses if you're taking losartan do not take painkillers such as ibuprofen diclofenac and naproxen a lot of people confuse losartan with losartan potassium hydrochlorothiazide and they often wonder whether losartan can make you urinate frequently well pure losartan which
is made by cozar has no diuretic effect but losartan potassium hydrochlorothiazide made by hyzar has a diuretic and can make you urinate more frequently let's now delve into a little bit of the main differences between losartan and lysinopril which is another commonly prescribed medication to lower blood pressure i personally take lysinopril every day they're similar medications because both strive to lower the levels of angiotensin ii in your body but the way they work is completely different while acinopril blocks the production of angiotensin ii losartan prevents angiotensin ii from binding to its receptors but the result
is the same they both lower blood pressure less angiotensin tune your body causes the relaxation of blood vessels which then lowers your blood pressure so to sum up the pros and cons of losartan it's great compared to some of the other blood pressure medications because of its low amount of side effects and it also protects your kidneys but the downside of taking losartan is that it can harm your kidney if you have a kidney-related ailment that is not from diabetes losartan can also raise potassium levels in your body so when you're taking losartan make sure
you follow the guidance of your doctor and keep them posted if your blood pressure hasn't improved in a month call your doctor immediately if you experience any severe side effects and if you're pregnant let them know that so they can switch you to a different medication and lastly continue to take your pills even if you feel all right unless your doctor tells you to quit please continue to be faithful in taking your meds well i hope this video has answered a few of your questions about losartan it's a great alternative to other blood pressure medications
just make sure that you follow all of your doctor's orders when taking it and if you've experienced any side effects from taking losartan let me know below in the comments i'm curious hi there if you suffer from high blood pressure like i do and you want to receive my educational videos about how to lower your blood pressure i'd like to ask you to do three simple things right now number one click the subscribe button right there and then number two click on the bell icon right down there so that i can notify you the moment
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