Insulin is a hormone that is normally secreted in the body by special cells located in an organ called the pancreas. The purpose of insulin is to regulate the amount of glucose, or sugar, in the blood. It accomplishes this by stimulating the body to absorb glucose and store it in the liver and muscle cells. Problems with the production or response to the hormone insulin leads to diabetes. 

Over 66 million adults have high blood pressure and over half of people with high blood pressure are either not controlled, unaware of having it, or not being treated.  Chronic health problems such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are significant contributors to worse events such as heart attack, stroke etc.

There are several classes of oral medicines that have been developed to treat people with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is high blood sugar caused by the body being resistant to insulin and insulin production being inadequate to make up for this resistance. Insulin works by stimulating the body to absorb blood sugar. The classes of oral diabetes medications include:

Millions of Americans take medicines for many different health conditions. Many do not understand the seriousness of the health conditions being treated or the importance of the medicines that have been prescribed. This lack of understanding about health conditions is called medical illiteracy and is a significant contributor to noncompliance – or people failing to take their medicines and incorporate diet and lifestyle changes as prescribed by their healthcare providers.

Water pills, also known as diuretics, are a type of medication used to treat multiple medical problems including high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and fluid retention. As a matter of fact, diuretics are probably the most effective means of providing symptomatic relief for people who are in symptomatic congestive heart failure. These medications act on various locations within the kidneys causing increased loss of body water through urination. 

Your health care provider may prescribe a category of medication called a calcium channel blocker (CCB) for multiple medical conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and abnormal heart rhythm. Commonly prescribed CCB’s include amlodipine, nifedipine, felodipine, and diltiazem.

Beta blockers are a class of medication that your health care provider may provide to treat one or more medical conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease, abnormal heart rhythms, and congestive heart failure. There are other reasons that a beta blocker may be prescribed for you including migraine headaches, tremors, and anxiety. You can easily determine if you have been prescribed a beta blocker by identifying the letters -lol at the end of the medications generic name. 

If you have had a stent placed in one of your coronary arteries or experienced a stroke or mini-stroke it is likely that your health care provider has prescribed an anti-platelet medication to help prevent recurrence of obstruction in the arteries supplying blood to your heart or brain. These medications work by blocking the action of platelets, a component of the blood that is involved in the formation of blood clots.

It is no mystery that the healthier you are the better you feel. Not only do you feel better, you also look better, and these positive effects transfer to every part of your day to day activities. Despite this common sense knowledge and increased prevalence of health food stores and local gyms, not everyone understands the initial steps they can take to get on the road to healthier and happier living.