Working to reduce high blood pressure or opposing conditions of dangerously elevated blood pressure.
From anti- (against) + hypertensive (characterized by high blood pressure). Hyper- (excessive) + tension (pressure). The term emerged in medicine around the 1950s-60s with the development of blood pressure medications.
Antihypertensive drugs like ACE inhibitors are among the most-prescribed medicines worldwide—they've prevented millions of strokes and heart attacks, yet many people don't realize these common pills are literally named after what they fight against.
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