Many medications, known as antihypertensives , are available to lower high blood pressure. Others, called beta blockers, reduce the heart rate and the heart's output of blood. Another class of antihypertensives is called sympathetic nerve inhibitors.
Sympathetic nerves go from the brain to all parts of the body, including the arteries.
They can cause the arteries to constrict, raising blood pressure. This class of drugs reduces blood pressure by inhibiting these nerves from constricting blood vessels. Yet another group of drugs is the vasodilators . The ACE inhibitors interfere with the body's production of angiotensin, a chemical that causes the arteries to constrict, and the angiotensin II receptor blockers block the effects of angiotensin. The calcium antagonists can reduce the heart rate and relax blood vessels.