University of Edinburgh researchers have warned that taking paracetamol painkillers daily pumps up the risk of heart attack or stroke by 20 percent for patients with high blood pressure.
They said doctors should give the lowest possible dose for the shortest time if people need it to control pain.
Dr. Iain MacIntyre, an NHS doctor in Scotland, said: “This is not about short-term use of paracetamol for headaches or fever, which is fine.
“But it does indicate a newly discovered risk for people who take it regularly over the longer term, usually for chronic pain.”
Medics often dole out paracetamol for people with long-term pain instead of ibuprofen because that is known to raise blood pressure.
But a study of 110 patients, published in the journal Circulation, found it significantly increases blood pressure in people who already have high levels.
It took just days for numbers to start rising and some patients in the trial had “really quite significant” rises in blood pressure, the experts said.
But blood pressure was also quick to come back down once someone stopped popping the pills.
The researchers warned around a third of Brits have high blood pressure, with rates higher in older people. And some one in 10 adults take paracetamol long-term, with the people in both groups at highest risk.
Professor James Dear added: “This study clearly shows that paracetamol – the world’s most used drug – increases blood pressure, which is one of the most important risk factors for heart attacks and strokes.
“Doctors and patients together should consider the risks versus the benefits of long-term paracetamol prescription.”
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