Generic Medications for Patients with Hypertension
Posted by Green on May 21, 2009
As prescription medications become less and less affordable, more patients with hypertension are looking into generic blood pressure medications as a way to reduce their expenses. Generally speaking, generic medications are the equivalent of their brand name counterparts. They should perform as well while costing less. Many manufacturers can take advantage of the fact that the patents have expired on some prescription drugs. This makes them available for manufacture by more than one supplier. Of course, this has the effect of making the drug available at a lower cost as a generic.
Consumers and doctors alike are sometimes concerned that generic heart and blood pressure medications may not be as effective or offer the same clinical benefits as their brand name counterparts. The assumption that cheaper products cannot possibly be of the same quality as their more expensive counterparts is a natural one.
Bioequivalency is the state of having equivalent chemical actions. This is the case when comparing generic blood pressure medications and brand name blood pressure medications. Shape, color, and the types of inactive fillers used in generic brands may differ from those found in brand name medications. However, the active ingredients remain the same. When a consumer sees his or her generic drug for the first time, it may be confusing. They are used to the appearance of their name brand drug, and often generics look different.
Generic medications are generally equivalent to their brand name counterparts. This appears to be particularly true of heart and blood pressure medications. The American Medical Association published a study in its monthly journal that compares and analyzes several hypertension and cardiovascular medications. This analysis of 47 different studies indicates that generic and brand name blood pressure and heart medications are equivalents in effectiveness. There has never been a comprehensive analysis of generic vs. brand name blood pressure and heart medications before.
From the results of this study, it would seem that generic blood pressure and heart medications are just as effective as their brand name counterparts. Nonetheless, a lot of doctors are reluctant to prescribe generic medications for blood pressure and heart treatment.
If you are worried about the expense of brand name drugs, you may want to consult your physician about substituting generics. Assuming that your doctor has agreed to let you try generic blood pressure medications, you will want to be sure to closely monitor your blood pressure for a few weeks after you make the switch. In this way you will be sure that your generic is working as well as your brand name did. This precaution will help you and your doctor to feel secure in taking advantage of the reduced cost of generic drugs.