Telmisartan/hydrochlorothiazide, a combination medicine, is often prescribed for the treatment of high blood pressure. By causing the blood vessels to relax and increasing the amount of water removed from the blood, which, in turn, decreases blood volume, the medication is effective in lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Telmisartan/hydrochlorothiazide comes in tablet form and is available in several strengths.
What Is Telmisartan/Hydrochlorothiazide?
Who Makes Telmisartan/Hydrochlorothiazide?
Telmisartan/hydrochlorothiazide is manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim.
How Does Telmisartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Work?
Telmisartan/hydrochlorothiazide is a combination of two medicines -- telmisartan and hydrochlorothiazide.
Telmisartan is a newer type of
blood pressure medicine known as an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB for short). As the name implies, telmisartan blocks angiotensin II receptors. This decreases the effectiveness of a chemical known as angiotensin II, which normally causes blood vessels to narrow (constrict). By blocking the effects of angiotensin II, telmisartan causes blood vessels to relax.
Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic, which is commonly referred to as a "water pill." It works by increasing the amount of salt and water that the kidneys remove from the blood. This extra salt and water are passed out through the urine. By increasing the amount of water removed from the blood, hydrochlorothiazide causes a decrease in blood volume.
The combined effects of telmisartan and hydrochlorothiazide cause a greater drop in
blood pressure than when either medicine is used alone.
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