Paracetamol: Long-term use linked to this risky condition

Using paracetamol over a long period of time could raise the risk of heart disease and stroke in hypertensive people, a study suggests.

Cautionary prescription

The research, published in the journal, Circulation, tracked 110 volunteers, more than half of whom were taking medication for high blood pressure or hypertension.

The participants were asked to take one gram of paracetamol four times daily for two weeks; this is the dosage given to people with chronic pains. They were then given placebo for another two weeks.

At the end of the trial, the team of researchers at the University of Edinburg, found that paracetamol caused a spike in blood pressure more than the placebo.

The study found that after people stopped taking the drug, their blood pressure returned to what it was at the start of the study.

The researchers have cautioned doctors to consider the risks and benefits of this commonly-prescribed drug to patients who have to take it over a long period of time.

Prof James Dear, personal chair of clinical pharmacology at Edinburgh, said:

Doctors and patients together should consider the risks versus the benefits of long-term paracetamol prescription, especially in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.

⋙ Your urine can tell you if you're getting poisoned by paracetamol

⋙ Paracetamol may be harmful to pregnant women

⋙ Plastic causes high blood pressure in pregnant women, new research shows

Still safe for short-term use

Paracetamol is widely used globally as a short-term remedy for aches and pains, with half a million people in Scotland being prescribed the painkiller in 2018.

It is also prescribed to manage chronic pain, despite little evidence of its benefit for long-term use. One out of every three people in the UK is affected by high blood pressure, with as many as one in ten being prescribed paracetamol. The researchers clarified that short-term use of the common medication is safe.

Dr Iain MacIntyre is the lead investigator, and he said:

This is not about short-term use of paracetamol for headaches or fever, which is, of course, fine – but it does indicate a newly discovered risk for people who take it regularly over the longer term, usually for chronic pain.

However, the team said they could not explain how paracetamol would raise blood pressure, but their findings should lead to a review of long-term paracetamol prescriptions.