Mixing antibiotics and high blood pressure medication poses severe health risks

A new study explains how dangerous mixing antibiotics and blood pressure medications can be, as dangerously low blood pressures may result, potentially causing shock and hospital visits.

The most common antibiotics (azithromycin, clarithromycin, and erythromycin) are prescribed to millions of people each year. Many patients are unaware of the potential risks of taking blood pressure medication and common antibiotics.

Some patients also fail to take medications regularly which may pose additional risks if medications are then taken on a more regular basis.

For the study, people older than 65 years old received medication commonly used to treat high blood pressure. The study was conducted between 1994 and 2009.

After providing individuals with blood pressure medication, researchers determined who was hospitalized due to having low blood pressure and then determined whether or not they were prescribed some kind of macrolide antibiotic prior to taking the blood pressure medication.

Researchers found 7,100 patients of the total group to be hospitalized for due to low blood pressure.

While azithromycin did not increase hypotension risks, clarithromycin appeared to increase high blood pressure risks nearly 400 percent, and erythromycin by almost 600 percent.

This study can be found in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).