Can Other Illnesses Raise Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can result from many different conditions and diseases. These can include diabetes, kidney disease, arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis and even pregnancy.
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston reported in the May 15, 2009 issue of PLoS Pathogens, that mice who had been infected with cytomegalovirus were likely to experience high blood pressure. CMV is actually a grouping of viruses that infects humans and other animals, including mice. It attacks cells in various organs of the body. CMV infection is wide spread in the human population, affecting some 60 to 99 percent of adults worldwide.
The infection increases the activity of renin, an enzyme that is associated with high blood pressure. It also increases angiotensin 11, a protein associated with high blood pressure.
- High blood pressure can result from many different conditions and diseases.
- The infection increases the activity of renin, an enzyme that is associated with high blood pressure.
Flu Vaccination Linked With Lower Risk Of Death In Patients With High Blood Pressure
Paris, France 1 Sept 2019: Influenza vaccination in patients with high blood pressure is associated with an 18% reduced risk of death during flu season, according to research presented today at ESC Congress 2019 together with the World Congress of Cardiology.
Given these results, it is my belief that all patients with high blood pressure should have an annual flu vaccination, said first author Daniel Modin research associate of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Vaccination is safe, cheap, readily available, and decreases influenza infection. On top of that, our study suggests that it could also protect against fatal heart attacks and strokes, and deaths from other causes.
According to previous research, the stress flu infection puts on the body may trigger heart attacks and strokes. Patients with hypertension are at raised risk of heart attack and stroke. By stopping flu infection, vaccination could also protect against cardiovascular events, but until now this had not been investigated.
The study used Danish nationwide healthcare registers to identify 608,452 patients aged 18 to 100 years with hypertension during nine consecutive influenza seasons . The researchers determined how many patients had received a flu vaccine prior to each season. They then followed patients over each season and tracked how many died. In particular, they recorded death from all causes, death from any cardiovascular cause, and death from heart attack or stroke.
ENDS
Check With Your Healthcare Provider To See If Your Blood Pressure Medications Should Be Adjusted
As we change, our medical conditions change. This is especially true when it comes to blood pressure. Dr. Laffin says it increases as we get older and that has to do with the stiffening of the larger arteries within our body. So, its very common to have to escalate therapy. If youre taking blood pressure medicine, check in with your doctor to make sure youre taking the right formula or dosage.
Most people will not be on the same blood pressure medication regimen for a long time. Its normal for a healthcare provider to make adjustments here and there. This can be attributed to our lifestyles. They dont stay the same over time so neither will the medications were taking. So, medication changes often correspond with lifestyle changes, Dr. Laffin explains.
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How To Manage High Blood Pressure
It all comes down to lifestyle changes. We know the pandemic has stressed us out, cut into our sleep and most likely made us stress eat or drink a little more. Dr. Laffin says that by cleaning up our acts, we can help keep our blood pressure under control.
I typically tell people that blood pressure management is about 70% lifestyle and 30% medications. Most people who take blood pressure medicines will need to take them because blood pressure doesnt get better as we get older. But if we do the right lifestyle things getting to an ideal weight, exercising and watching dietary sodium those things can go a long way. Sleeping six to eight hours a night and moderating alcohol consumption can make a major difference as well.
Why Might A Cold Medication Raise Blood Pressure
There are other treatments for your cold or flu that will not raise blood pressure.
Aspirin or acetaminophen to relieve headache or sore throat.
Saline nasal spray to relieve stuffiness.
Flush your nasal passages with a neti pot to loosen up gunk in your nose so you can blow it out more easily.
Gargle with warm saltwater to relieve a cough or scratchy throat.
Drink up: water, tea, juice, chicken broth or tomato soup, etc.
If you have a portable humidifier, put it on wherever you are, and go to bed with it.
Rest. The housework can wait.
If you have normal blood pressure, there is no reason for you to be worried over whether or not it will rise from your cold or flu. This is the bodys way of helping get rid of the illness.
Dr. Besser provides comprehensive family care, treating common and acute primary conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Her ongoing approach allows her the opportunity to provide accurate and critical diagnoses of more complex conditions and disorders.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. Shes also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Sneaky Causes Of Hypertension
Its well known that the risk of high blood pressure, or hypertension, is associated with weight gain and lack of exercise. And weve also heard that habits like smoking and eating salty foods can increase blood pressure. But there are other causes you may never have considered. Here are six more culprits that can lead to high blood pressure.
The Flu And Your Heart
2 min Read Time
A case of the flu can cause some real heartache. Literally.
There is growing evidence that links the flu to both heart attack and stroke. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine cited that heart attacks are six times more likely in the seven days following a flu diagnosis. The good news however, getting a flu vaccine not only helps prevent the flu, but can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure or other major heart events.
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Flu Season Is Shaping Up To Be A Nasty One Cdc Says
Doctors noticed long ago that there was a connection between seasonal flu and cardiovascular deaths, but the association has been hard to nail down. Part of the challenge is that many people with flu symptoms don’t get tested for the virus. So Kwong and his colleagues decided to use test results and match them with hospital records.
“This is the first time we’ve had lab-confirmed influenza, so we’re certain that these were influenza causing the infection,” Kwong says.
There’s a lot happening in the body during the flu that can help explain the increased risk of a heart attack.
“There’s inflammation going on, and your body is under a lot of stress,” explains Kwong. Oxygen levels and blood pressure can drop. These changes “can lead to an increased risk of forming blood clots in the vessels that serve your heart.”
A young person who is normally healthy is very unlikely to have a heart attack during the flu. “It’s all about your baseline risk,” Kwong says.
In his study, the people who had a heart attack during the flu were older adults. “Most of them were over 65, and a lot of them had risk factors for heart disease,” such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, Kwong says.
Six Things That Raise Your Blood Pressure
by Maggie Francis, American Heart Association
Keeping your pressure under control can mean adding things to your life, like exercise, that help lower it. But, you may not realize that it also means avoiding things that raise your pressure. A healthy blood pressure level means you’re less likely to have a heart attack or stroke.
If you or someone you care about is among the nearly 80 million U.S. adults with high blood pressure, you need to be aware of these six things that can raise blood pressure, and thwart your efforts to keep it in a healthy range.
Salt
The American Heart Association recommends people aim to eat no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day. That level is associated with lower blood pressure, which reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke. Because the average American’s sodium intake is so excessive, even cutting back to 2,400 mg per day can improve blood pressure and heart health.
People with high blood pressure should be aware that the use of may raise blood pressure. Many over-the-counter cold and flu preparations contain decongestants. Always read the labels on all OTC medications. Look for warnings for those with high blood pressure and who take blood pressure medications.
Alcohol
Hot Tubs & Saunas
People with high blood pressure should not move back and forth between cold water and hot tubs or saunas. This could cause an increase in blood pressure.
Weight gain
Sitting
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Itching At The Injection Site Or A Full
This would signal an allergic reaction, but its very rare to have an allergic reaction to the flu shot, Dr. Adalja notes. There are lots of myths about egg allergies and the vaccine,” he explainsbecause most flu shots and nasal sprays are manufactured using technology that involves small amounts of egg proteins, per the CDC.
“If you can eat scrambled eggs, youre not going to have a problem with the flu shot, Dr. Adalja says. If you have a confirmed egg allergy, you can likely still get the shot, the CDC says.
The caveat: If you experience severe itching at injection site, a rash all over your body, or signs of anaphylactic shock, seek immediate medical attention. And if youve had an allergic reaction to the flu shot in the past, you are among those few groups of people who the CDC recommends skip the flu shot.
Other Inconclusively Related Symptoms
A variety of symptoms may be indirectly related to, but are not always caused by, high blood pressure, such as:
- Blood spots in the eyes: Blood spots in the eyes are more common in people with diabetes or high blood pressure, but neither condition causes the blood spots. Floaters in the eyes are also not related to high blood pressure. However, an eye doctor may be able to detect damage to the optic nerve caused by untreated high blood pressure.
- Facial flushing: Facial flushing occurs when blood vessels in the face dilate. It can occur unpredictably or in response to certain triggers such as sun exposure, cold weather, spicy foods, wind, hot drinks and skin-care products. Facial flushing can also occur with emotional stress, exposure to heat or hot water, alcohol consumption and exercise all of which can raise blood pressure temporarily. While facial flushing may occur while your blood pressure is higher than usual, high blood pressure is not the cause of facial flushing.
- Dizziness: While dizziness can be a side effect of some blood pressure medications, it is not caused by high blood pressure. However, dizziness should not be ignored, especially if the onset is sudden. Sudden dizziness, loss of balance or coordination and trouble walking are all warning signs of a stroke. High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for stroke.
Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisers. See our editorial policies and staff.
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How Did Stress Factor Into Higher Blood Pressure Numbers During The Pandemic
Dr. Laffin says that stress could have slightly contributed to the elevated numbers.
We know that elevated sympathetic activity, or periods when the sympathetic nervous system gets revved up, can increase blood pressure in some people for a short time. However, for some individuals, that can be a more chronic issue that ultimately leads to elevated blood pressure. Elevated blood pressure once in a while because of a stressful situation is not particularly harmful. But chronically, elevated blood pressures are worrisome.
Many People Want To Know If A Stomach Virus Can Actually Raise Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the force with which blood presses against the inner walls of vessels.
A virus is a microscopic organism that can cause anything from a minor nuisance in the body to a life-threatening situation.
But is there a connection between a viral infection of the stomach and an increase in blood pressure?
There is no evidence that a stomach virus can raise blood pressure, says William Manger, MD, PhD, founder of the National Hypertension Association, professor emeritus at the New York School of Medicine, and author of the book, Live Longer, Live Better: Avoid the Risks.
Dr. Manger adds, However, if a stomach virus causes significant abdominal pain, an elevation in blood pressure may result from the pain and discomfort.
Thus, there is no direct path through which a stomach virus spikes blood pressure.
Of course, physical pain or stress can elevate ones blood pressure regardless of the cause of that pain.
Dr. Manger, who began practicing medicine in 1949, has conducted research on the mechanism of salt-induced hypertension, and has published research in peer-reviewed journals.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. Shes also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Risk Of Death 18% Lower
Little is currently known about how influenza infection affects people with high blood pressure. However, the Danish research group already showed last year that people with heart failure who get flu shots have a reduced risk of death compared with those who are not vaccinated.
Our theory is that the flu stresses the body, and this can trigger heart attacks and strokes. Since people with high blood pressure have an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, we thought that preventing flu through vaccination might also protect against these diseases. However, this had not been investigated.
The researchers used nationwide health registries to identify 608,452 people 18100 years old with high blood pressure. The researchers monitored how many of these people died after they got flu shots for nine consecutive influenza seasons from 2007 to 2016. They recorded death from all causes but especially focused on cardiovascular causes of death such as heart attack and stroke.
Overall, we found that vaccination was associated with an 18% reduced risk of dying from all causes a 16% reduced risk of dying of cardiovascular causes and a 10% reduced risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke. So flu vaccination was clearly associated with a reduced risk of death from diseases that are associated with high blood pressure.
Tips For Managing High Blood Pressure During Cold And Flu Season
– Although COVID-19 continues to dominate health news, don’t discount the impact of seasonal colds and flu on health, especially for individuals with high blood pressure.
According to the American Heart Association, heart attacks and strokes increase during the winter months along with the arrival of colds and flu, so it is important for anyone with high blood pressure to treat cold and flu symptoms safely and to take steps to avoid getting sick.
The American Heart Association offers several safety tips for managing high blood pressure, especially for those taking blood pressure medications:
– Check labels. Many over-the-counter decongestant medications, as well as some pain relievers, contain ingredients that are known to raise blood pressure and may make your prescription medication less effective. If you are taking blood pressure medication or have a history of a heart attack or stroke, ask your doctor or pharmacist which options are safe for you before you choose an over-the-counter medication for cold or flu relief. If you must use a decongestant, use it for the shortest time possible.
– Know triggers. Beware of other factors that can raise blood pressure and that may be part of your activities during the long, cold winter, notably alcohol consumption, salt consumption, and the use of hot tubs and saunas.
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Pay Attention To The Warning Signs Of A Potential Heart Attack
Flu complications can develop very quickly, so it’s important to pay attention to signs and symptoms. Dr. Vasenius said he always watches for these classic warning signs of a potential heart problem, with or without the flu:
- Shortness of breath and chest pain discomfort, extreme squeezing or pressure
- Dizziness or feeling like you might faint
If you have these symptoms in activities or situations where you’ve never had problems before, you should be seen by a medical professional immediately. That’s especially important if you have any risk factors for heart disease, including:
- Diabetes
- Family history of heart disease
- Smoking
If you have two or more of these risk factors, you should see a doctor to be screened for heart disease with or without the flu.
Finally, protect yourself by getting your flu shot every year. The flu can be a life-threatening infection, especially in people at risk.
Flu shots are available at CareNow Urgent Care locations across DFW.
If you have the flu and any of the symptoms or risk factors listed above, one of our many Medical City ER locations across North Texas can help you avoid getting heart sick.
Medical City Healthcare provides comprehensive emergency services across North Texas.
At Medical City Healthcare, were dedicated to the care and improvement of human life. So, we hope youll Take Care!
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