February is American Heart Month, and it’s also typically when cold and flu season is hitting hard.
Before you reach for a decongestant or pain reliever to treat your symptoms, you want to know what it can do to your blood pressure.
Decongestants
Cardiologist at Memorial Hermann Katy, Dr. Wafi Momin says decongestants like Sudafed can raise your blood pressure by constricting blood vessels. This can constrict blood vessels all over the body, not just in the nose.
That can be harmful to people with hypertension.
Pain relievers
NSAIDs like Ibuprofen and Naproxen are known to raise blood pressure in some people.
“It doesn’t have to be a decongestant, nonsteroidal drugs (like ibuprofen) can cause high blood pressure and during the cold and flu season for even pain relief people are using those kinds of drugs that can become very problematic,” Dr. Momin said.
Cold medicine for people with high blood pressure
For the drugs that specifically say they’re safe for high blood pressure, Dr. Momin said there are still some instances where they can raise your blood pressure.
“They’re combined with a lot of ingredients and a lot of times people will just read the face of what’s being marketed but not look at exactly what’s involved in the drug and there could be an active ingredient in there that could be harmful. Maybe not from a high blood pressure standpoint but maybe from a fluid retention or sodium retention standpoint and that can also cause high blood pressure,” Dr. Momin said.
Sherry Rodebush regularly monitors her blood pressure and takes a daily pill to keep her heart healthy but a minor cough, almost derailed that when she opted for a cold medicine that raised her blood pressure even though it said it was safe for patients like her.
“When the nurse did my blood pressure check when I got there it was 177 over something,” Rodebush explained. “Even though it says on the box that it’s safe for people to high blood pressure, obviously you see what it did to me.”
Check with your doctor about any medications you’re taking, even if they’re over-the-counter medications or natural supplements.