Will take a decongestant raise your blood pressure?
Before reaching for cold, flu or allergy relief at the pharmacy, it is important to learn how decongestants, a common ingredient in many over-the-counter medications, can affect your heart rate and blood pressure.
What is a decongestant?
When you have a cold, allergies or sinus problems, the membranes in the nose, sinuses and chest can swell and block the airflow. This makes you feel blocked or congested.
A decongestant is a kind of medicine that helps narrow the blood vessels in these membranes, lowering the swelling and help you breathe easier.
decongestant found in many types of cold, flu, sinus and drugs against allergies, but not all. To find out if the drug you want to take a decongestant in it, look at the drug facts label on the package. This label indicates the names of all active ingredients of the drug and purpose. Even if you do not have high blood pressure heart or blood pressure problem, it is a good idea to talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking a new type of drug.
decongestants and hypertension
decongestants are similar to adrenaline, a hormone that helps fight or flee from danger in times of stress.
Adrenaline opens your airway, causes your blood vessels to contract and moves more blood to the heart and lungs. This makes your heart beat faster and causes your blood pressure to rise.
Because decongestants act like adrenaline, they can also raise your blood pressure and pulse. You should not use decongestants if you have:
- Hypertension
- heart disease The
- An irregular heartbeat
find no decongestants
If you are not able to take decongestants because your blood pressure, talk to your doctor about other ways to find relief. Your doctor may suggest:
- The medications that do not contain decongestants but may even help relieve your symptoms
- Drinking plenty of fluids such as water, tea, juice and soup
- using a saline nasal spray to rinse your sinuses
- Get enough rest, and easily take with your activities
- using a cool mist humidifier to make the air in your home moist
for more information, visit the heart and Vascular Institute at UPMC or call 1-855-UPMC-HVI (876 -2484) .
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