High Blood Pressure Due to Medicines
Blood pressure is defined as the pressure exerted by the molecules of our blood against the walls of our arteries, veins, and capillaries. This pressure is generated by the constant pumping of blood by the heart.
There are many causes of increased levels of blood pressure in the body. According to some research, it was found that some medicines can also lead to increase blood pressure.
Following are the common medication that can increase the blood pressure significantly
• Alcohol supplements
• Herbal supplements
• Pain relievers
• Antidepressants
In America, many people are affected by increased blood pressure. The situation is becoming worse day by day. Blood pressure is becoming the leading cause of death in America. Even in adults, this problem is common. The increased blood pressure can cause serious heart problems, kidney problems, and other diseases.
The Centre for disease control and prevention found that in the unites states millions of people die due to increased blood pressure.
The systolic pressure which should be around 120 is considered the normal systolic blood pressure for adults and the diastolic pressure should be lesser than or equal to 80. The high level of blood pressure usually lies between systolic pressure of 120 and 129 and diastolic pressure which is more than 80.
Causes of High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure usually occurs due to the following problems
• Consumption of a diet that is rich in fat or cholesterol and salt.
• Some diseases can also lead to high blood pressure. Such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and problems associated with hormones
• The history of your family, specifically if your parents or close relatives have the problem of high blood pressure
• Inactive lifestyle
Now one of the most common causes of hypertension has been discovered which is chronic use of some medications. This cause remains unnoticed by the patients and the doctors. Due to this, the number of individuals with high blood tremendously increases. Many medications can cause the blood pressure to raise above the normal level and if they remain unnoticed the condition can become worse.
Case Study
An experiment was performed in America which includes 27,599 individuals. 35.4 individuals have high blood pressure problems. These individuals were the part of Nutrient Examination Survey and National Health. The test was performed on these individuals which are called NHANES. It was found that in most Individuals the cause of increased blood pressure is the taking of medicines. These medicines also reduce the effectiveness of treatment.
According to research in 17.5 per cent of individuals, high blood pressure is caused by taking prescription medicines. In these individuals, the blood pressure is not treated properly. While in 18.5 individuals in which proper treatment is provided. It was found that these individuals are also taking such drugs. So, the availability of proper treatment does not provide enough help to overcome hypertension.
This research was published in November in JAMA Internal Medicine. The senior doctor Dr Timothy S. Anderson who worked at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre located in Baston suggested that he and all his teams are trying to make people more aware of the fact that increased blood pressure can also be caused due to some medications. Because the awareness in people about the causes of increased blood pressure is crucial as it will help them avoid that medication that can increase blood pressure.
Dr Anderson found that the medication that caused hypertension can be controlled by replacing these medicine with some other medicines that will bring the Elevated level of blood to the normal point.
Such as according to Dr Anderson women take estrogen-containing oral contraceptive that leads to an increased blood level. In such a situation, this medicine can be replaced with a progestin-only or nonhormonal contraceptive. In the same way, NSAID which is called a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that can cause increased blood levels and is mostly used to relieve pain can be replaced with the medicine named acetaminophen which brings the blood pressure to normal.
There is also a wide range of medicines that can increase the level of blood pressure drastically and can make the situation worse
Some of the medications are following
Oral Steroids such as
• cortisone
• Antidepressants
• Herbal supplements such as licorice
If you are taking any of these supplements then be careful about the intake of this medication and consult with your doctor before taking any one of them.
Consult a doctor for Hypertension
Whenever, you visit your, doctor, for the problem of high blood pressure. The doctor will ask his patient about all the medicines that he is taking and his diet routine. In case the patient forgets to mention any medicine or a diet routine that is affecting his blood pressure. Then the doctor can suggest an adequate medicine but the wrong information may have some side effects on the body of the patient as all the requirements are not properly provided to the doctor.
According to Dr Anderson, the doctor must be professional enough to test various medicines that can affect the blood pressure of the patient. The doctor must examine the blood so that it will become clear which factors are changed in the blood that can help in understanding the cause of increased blood pressure which will directly guide in providing appropriate treatment to the patient.
Dr Anderson suggested that the increased blood pressure can also cause by taking food that contains a high amount of salt. So many people are sensitive to salt. When they eat food that is rich in salt their blood pressure increases. The age and weight factors also help in recognizing the cause. So, for those individuals that are salt sensitive salty food such as cured meat, and pizza can be replaced with low salt foods. This step is enough for such individuals to control their blood pressure
Effects on body
Some medicines have a strong effect on the body that is not easy for the patient to endure. For example, Antidepressants have a strong idiosyncratic factor. This medicine can cause an increase in blood pressure in one patient while in another it may have no side effects.
The usage of the home monitor is beneficial for the patient. Through this monitor, they can check their blood pressure level immediately and can take the appropriate medicine according to the rise in blood pressure. This medicine is suggested by the doctors.
If you are fit and a healthy person and you have never experienced any disease. Still, there is a 90 per cent chance that you will become a patient with hypertension in the future as you are getting older. The most common causes are eating salty food and being overweight. If you lose 10 pounds of weight then it will reduce the risk of hypertension in your body. Changing dietary habits is also beneficial in controlling hypertension
Final words
High levels of blood pressure can be controlled in various ways as it is caused by many reasons. The best way is to follow a diet plan instead of taking medicine. Manage the number of essential nutrients in your body. This problem should not be neglected as it can cause serious health problems and can lead to death. So be careful about your health and before trying anything consult with your doctor
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Reference
• Bobrie g, amar l, faucon a-l, madjalian a-m, azizi m. Resistant hypertension. In: bakris gl, sorrentino mj, eds. Hypertension: a companion to braunwald’s heart disease. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, pa: elsevier; 2018:chap 43.
• Charles l, triscott j, dobbs b. Secondary hypertension: discovering the underlying cause. Am fam physician. 2017;96(7):453-461. Pmid: 29094913 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29094913/.