Israeli Doctor: Over-the-Counter Drugs Could Raise Blood Pressure

Chemical components in anti-inflammatory pain relievers, antibiotics, contraceptives and anti-depressants may increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, according to Dr. Ehud Grossman of Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center.

In a recent article published in the American Journal of Medicine with co-author Dr. Franz Messerli of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Sackler showed that many over-the-counter and prescription drugs can raise blood pressure and induce hypertension.

According to an interview with Israel21c, Grossman says that will high blood pressure is a known side effect of many medications, physicians frequently disregard that possibility when prescribing or recommending certain drugs.  Grossman recommends doctors reduce dosages or add blood pressure-lowering drugs to the treatment regimen if a patient begins to exhibit high blood pressure while taking medication.