If you're among the 25 percent of Americans with high blood pressure, your first line of defense will usually be hypertension medication. If you have high blood pressure, your heart has to work harder to pump blood through your body. This can lead to the biggest killer in America: Heart disease. Luckily, prescription medication can help treat this common condition. Just like all people with hypertension are not the same, neither are all blood pressure medications! Let's look at some common options. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, or ACE-inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers, or ARB drugs, both effect the hormonal system that regulates blood pressure. The renin-angiotensin system, works like this: The kidneys produce an enzyme, renin, which is converted to the hormone angiotensin. Angiotensin controls constriction of the arteries. While active angiotensin causes them to narrow, the inactive form does not. Both ACE-inhibitors and ARB drugs stop angiotensin from becoming active so that it cannot narrow the arteries, effectively lowering blood pressure. ACE-inhibitors, like Vasotec and Zestril, are quite valuable, but with one downside: The common cough that often accompanies the medication. For this reason, some people may find ARB drugs, like Avapro and Cozaar, to be more convenient. Some people with hypertension are treated with a group of medications known as beta-blockers, like Tenormin, Inderal and Toprol. Beta-blockers work on the sympathetic nervous system, a part of the body that helps regulate involuntary functions, such as your heart beat. These medications slow the heart rate and reduce the force of its contractions. While beta-blockers are useful for hypertension suffers who also have angina or have experienced a recent heart attack, the side-effects, which can include depression and nightmares, don't make it ideal for everyone. Alpha-blockers, like Hytrin and Cardura, cause the heart's arteries to widen, thereby lowering blood pressure. Alpha-blockers may be particularly useful for patients with enlarged prostate glands. But, because they can actually increase the risk of heart-related problems, alpha-blockers are recommended for use only in conjunction with other drugs. Calcium channel blockers, or CCBs, inhibit the movement of calcium into the muscle cells of the heart and arteries. Because calcium is needed for the heart to contract, these drugs decrease the force of the heart's pumping, thereby lowering blood pressure. CCBs are available in sustained-release and short-acting form. Examples of commonly prescribed CCBs include Calan, Norasc, and Cardizem. Perhaps the oldest known hypertension medications are diuretics, like Hydrodiuril and Lasix. Excess salt in the body leads to excess fluid, which, in turn, causes increased pressure on the heart, or high blood pressure. Diuretics work in the tiny tubules of the kidneys to remove fluid from the body. No matter what medication or combination of medications your doctor prescribes for you, it is vital to take drugs EXACTLY per your physician's instructions.