A thiazide diuretic that lowers blood pressure and reduces fluid retention by preventing sodium reabsorption in the kidney's distal tubules. It's one of the most commonly prescribed medications for hypertension and is often combined with other blood pressure medications.
From 'hydro-' (water) + 'chloro-' (chlorine) + 'thiazide' (the chemical class containing sulfur and nitrogen). Developed in the 1950s as the first orally effective diuretic, revolutionizing treatment of high blood pressure and heart failure.
Hydrochlorothiazide was one of medicine's first 'blockbuster' drugs and is still prescribed more than any other blood pressure medication 70 years later! It's so commonly combined with other drugs that pharmacists joke about the 'HCTZ epidemic' - it seems to be paired with everything from ACE inhibitors to ARBs.
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