18% Of Adults With Hypertension Take Meds That Increase Blood Pressure

Man hand taking medicine

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A new study warns that nearly one-in-five Americans who have been diagnosed with hypertension are also taking medications that can increase their blood pressure. The study, which was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, warned that a majority of adults with hypertension have failed to get their blood pressure under control.

Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston reviewed nine years of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and found that nearly 15% of adults reported taking medication that can cause an increase in blood pressure. Of those who were diagnosed with hypertension, 18.5% of adults said they took medicine that causes their blood pressure to rise.

The researchers said the drugs included antidepressants, prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and steroids. They said that people who use those drugs have "increased odds of uncontrolled hypertension" and urged doctors to talk to their patients to find out what medication they are currently taking.

"Clinicians caring for patients with hypertension should routinely screen for medications that may cause elevated BP and consider deprescribing, replacing them with safer therapeutic alternatives, and minimizing the dose and duration of use when alternatives are not available," they wrote.


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