What are the medications that can raise your blood pressure?

High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, which are among the leading causes of death in Europe. The good news is that blood pressure can be controlled in most cases without resorting to drugs, if appropriate changes in diet and lifestyle are made.

But hypertension is due in at least one in five hypertensive patients to the use of a drug for another problem, according to a study from the 70th Annual Conference of the American College of Cardiology in May 2021.

Medications that can increase blood pressure

According to the aforementioned research, there are several classes of drugs in particular that can cause high blood pressure:

Antidepressants.Analgesic drugs nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, especially ibuprofen. Steroid drugs, for example, cortisonewhich is used to treat gout, lupus, or arthritis.Antipsychotics.Some oral contraceptives.decongestants (to reduce swelling of the nasal mucous membrane).

It is common to take multiple medications

Researchers who have participated in the study consider the results worrying, especially because almost half of all patients with high blood pressure do not have it under control.

Dr. John Vitarello, study director and an internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, explains that hypertensive patients should achieve a blood pressure of less than 130 mmHg (systolic) and 80 mmHg (diastolic), according to current guidelines. .

However, these values ​​are often not reached, especially since many people with high blood pressure They don’t know they have it. In other cases, the patient takes medications against high blood pressure, which are not entirely effective because they are taking other medications.

It is the case of many older people, who combine antihypertensive drugs with other drugs. The researchers affirm that it is necessary to look for solutions to this situation.

Discontinue or switch antihypertensive medications

For the study, data from 27,599 participants were analysed. 49 percent of people with a mean age of 55 already had high blood pressure (ie, more than 130/80 mmHg). In the case of women with high blood pressure, 24 percent took a drug that increases blood pressure, in the case of men, it was 14 percent.

Doctor Vitarello recommends that doctors not prescribe medications that increase blood pressure when they are not absolutely essential. Avoiding medication that has hypertension among its side effects would allow many people to control their blood pressure without any medication.

Treat high blood pressure and other diseases naturally

If you have high blood pressure and are taking any of the above medications, talk to your doctor about it and request an alternative that does not affect your blood pressure.

However, the drug is often not the only culprit. A 2018 study indicates that, for example, in patients taking antidepressants there are often other factors that increase blood pressure, since they also suffer from diabetes, lipid metabolism disorders, vascular diseases and obesity. They also smoke more frequently than average.

Remember that many things can be done to reduce blood pressure, such as losing weight, eating a vegetable diet, rich in fiber and adjusted in calories, exercising and practicing a relaxation technique.

Disorders that lead to the use of drugs that increase blood pressure, such as gout, arthritis or osteoarthritis, can also be treated naturally.

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