The common cold, flu, loose motion, a blocked nose, and others are a few of the most common ailments that most of the people treat with the help of the over-the-counter drugs. These medicines fall under the category of NSAIDs or Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs like decongestants and ibuprofen that contains phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine. On one hand, these drugs are safe to consume if the patients follow a safe consumption regime. However, the AHA or American Heart Association, along with other institutions has stated these have the potential to sabotage the cardiovascular health.
As per the assistant physician in the UPMC Pinnacle’s PinnacleHealth CardioVascular Institute in Harrisburg, PA, Sondra DePalma, the people who are suffering from uncontrolled hypertension or high blood pressure must refrain from taking oral decongestants. She is also the specialist in the guidelines presented by the American College of Cardiology or ACC and AHA and stated the people who don’t have any history of disturbed cardiovascular health may opt for these medicines but under the supervision of the physician.
The guidelines released by the ACC and AHA, both the decongestants as well as the NSAIDs have the potential to spike the level of blood pressure due to the way it operates in the body to target the ailments. The decongestants tighten the capillaries present in the nose that reduce the inflammation in the nose but also spike the other factors that may lead to further concerns.
Dr. Erin Michos stated in case the patients have complained of heart disease and high blood pressure, the patients must avoid constricting the blood vessels. This condition will not only worsen the condition but may also give birth to other ailments. He is the Associate Director at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease in the department of preventive cardiology, located in Baltimore.
