What are the Pros and Cons of Nitrendipine Tablets, and How Should They Be Used?
Nifedipine tablets have the advantages of stable blood pressure reduction, rapid onset, and small blood pressure fluctuations. However, they also have disadvantages such as adverse reactions when first used and side effects when used long-term. Since nifedipine tablets are prescription drugs, their specific usage requires the guidance of a doctor, and patients cannot use them independently. Nifedipine tablets are mainly used for the treatment of hypertension and coronary heart disease.
1. Advantages of Nifedipine Tablets:
① It has a rapid onset, relatively prominent blood pressure reduction effect and amplitude, and relatively small individual differences in therapeutic effect.
② Long-acting dihydropyridine antihypertensive drugs have stable blood pressure reduction, small blood pressure fluctuations, and a high trough-to-peak ratio, requiring only one dose per day. Patients are unlikely to forget to take their medication, resulting in good medication compliance.
③ It has good antihypertensive effects on elderly patients with hypertension, and does not affect the antihypertensive effect of hypertensive patients with a high-sodium diet or taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen and diclofenac sodium) concurrently. It also has a significant antihypertensive effect on hypertensive patients who consume alcohol and can be used for hypertensive patients with diabetes, coronary heart disease, or peripheral vascular disease.
④ Long-term use of dihydropyridine antihypertensive drugs also has an anti-atherosclerotic effect.
2. Disadvantages of Nifedipine Tablets:
① A common adverse reaction is edema in the lower limbs. This edema is often noticed before going to bed at night and disappears when waking up in the morning the next day. Generally, this edema has no effect on physical health.
② When dihydropyridine antihypertensive drugs are initially used, there may be an increased reflex sympathetic activity, leading to an increased heart rate, facial flushing, and headache.
③ Some hypertensive patients may experience stubborn constipation when taking dihydropyridine antihypertensive drugs for a long time.
3. Adverse Reactions of Nifedipine Tablets:
The disadvantages of taking nifedipine tablets are relatively rare, including headache, facial flushing, dizziness, nausea, hypotension, edema in the ankles, angina pectoris. Patients allergic to this medication may experience allergic hepatitis, rashes, and even exfoliative dermatitis. It is recommended to follow the doctor's instructions to ensure reasonable medication use.
