Paracetamol raises blood pressure a little

Adapted from BMJ 26 Feb 22

It has long been recognised that non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs raise blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure you are advised to avoid them if possible, and if you are taking them for an acute condition, let your doctor know, as it will affect their evaluation. If you don’t mention it, you could end up on more anti-hypertensive medication than you really need.

It has long been thought that paracetamol had no effect on blood pressure. I was taught this at medical school and physicians have been advising paracetamol as the drug of choice for acute conditions in hypertension for decades.

Now a new study of 110 people shows that paracetamol actually increases the blood pressure by 5 mm Hg. This was published in Circulation.

This is not a huge amount, but could potentially affect a doctor’s decision on blood pressure medication, as they tend to have certain thresholds for the initiation or increase in medication.

Let your doctor know so they can consider this information if you are getting a blood pressure check and have been taking paracetamol.