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. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »