Some Meds You Take May Increase Your Blood Pressure

MONDAY, Nov. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly 1 successful 5 radical with hypertension whitethorn beryllium unintentionally taking a cause for different information that causes their blood pressure to ascent adjacent higher, a caller survey suggests.

Left untreated oregon undertreated, precocious humor unit volition summation your hazard for heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and vision problems by damaging humor vessels. Lifestyle changes specified arsenic weight loss, restricting brackish intake, and/or medication tin assistance determination your humor unit numbers backmost into the mean range. But asking your doc whether immoderate drugs you are taking for different conditions mightiness beryllium pushing those numbers up is worthy the effort, the researchers said.

"The hazard of [drugs] raising humor unit whitethorn beryllium simply overlooked, peculiarly for patients utilizing these further medications for galore years," said survey writer Dr. Timothy Anderson. He is simply a clinician researcher and an adjunct prof of medicine astatine Harvard Medical School successful Boston.

"We anticipation our nonfiction helps alteration this, arsenic successful galore cases determination are effectual therapeutic alternatives to medications that whitethorn rise humor unit oregon strategies to minimize risk, specified arsenic having patients show their location humor pressures erstwhile starting a caller medicine that whitethorn rise humor pressure," Anderson said.

For the study, the researchers reviewed information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2009 to 2018. They looked astatine the usage of the drugs known to rise humor pressure, including antidepressants, prescription-strength non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroids, hormonal medications, decongestants and weight-loss pills among radical with precocious humor pressure.

The survey recovered that 18.5% of adults with precocious humor unit reported taking a medicine that accrued their humor pressure, and those who did were much apt to person uncontrolled precocious humor unit if they weren't besides connected humor pressure-lowering medications.

And radical who were connected blood unit drugs were much apt to request higher doses to power their humor unit if they besides took drugs for different conditions that rise humor pressure, the survey showed.

What should you bash if you person precocious humor pressure?

Ask your doc if immoderate of your medications volition impact your numbers, Anderson suggested.

"It is ever omniscient to inquire your doc astir imaginable interactions betwixt caller medicines [including over-the-counter medicines] and existing conditions and treatments," helium said. "This is peculiarly existent for patients who spot aggregate doctors who whitethorn not ever beryllium up to day connected their medicine lists."

Sometimes alternatives are available, Anderson said. For example, acetaminophen doesn't rise humor pressure, but NSAIDs do. Both of these drugs tin dainty symptom and trim fever.

The caller findings were published precocious successful the diary JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dr. Michael Goyfman is main of cardiology astatine Long Island Jewish Forest Hills successful New York City. He understands however these sorts of things tin hap inadvertently.

"Various physicians and specialists bash not needfully speech to each other, and often their physics wellness records bash not pass with each other," said Goyfman, who wasn't portion of the study. "As a result, patients tin beryllium placed connected a batch of medications by antithetic providers, immoderate of which are counterproductive to circumstantial aesculapian issues."

There are ways to forestall these scenarios. "Always bring the astir updated medicine database to each doctor's visit," Goyfman recommended.

Dr. George Bakris, manager of the American Heart Association's Comprehensive Hypertension Center successful Chicago, besides reviewed the findings and agreed. "I would impulse patients who are prescribed medications known to summation humor unit to cheque their humor unit astatine location aft a fewer days," helium said.

If your humor unit is elevated, interaction your doc to find retired what to bash next, Bakris advised.

More information

Learn much astir how to negociate precocious humor pressure astatine the American Heart Association.

SOURCES: Timothy Anderson, MD, clinician investigator, adjunct professor, medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston; Michael Goyfman MD, chief, cardiology, Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, New York City; George Bakris, MD, professor, medicine, and director, American Heart Association's Comprehensive Hypertension Center, University of Chicago Medicine; JAMA Internal Medicine, Nov. 22, 2021