Can You Stop Blood Pressure Medication

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Exercising, losing weight, eating healthy, and quitting smoking can help you control high blood pressure (hypertension) and improve your overall health. Some people find that after making these lifestyle changes, they no longer need medication to control their blood pressure.

However, before you stop taking blood pressure medication, you'll need to work with your healthcare provider to assess the risks and benefits.

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Can I Stop My Hypertension Medication?

To make an informed choice about your need for ongoing treatment, you and your healthcare provider will first need to review the cause (or causes) of your high blood pressure.

Causes of high blood pressure include:

Being overweight or obese
Chronic kidney disease
Diabetes
Excessive alcohol intake
Family history of high blood pressure
Lack of exercise
Older age
Sleep apnea
Smoking
Stress
Thyroid disorders and cancer
Too much salt in your diet

The factors that contribute to high blood pressure generally fall into two categories: modifiable and unmodifiable.

Modifiable factors are those you can make changes to, such as your diet and activity level. Others, like genetics and age, are not factors you can control.

In 90-95% of cases, the exact cause of hypertension is never found. This type of high blood pressure is called "essential hypertension" or "primary hypertension."

If your healthcare provider determines that your high blood pressure is primarily related to modifiable factors and your blood pressure readings normalize after you make changes, it may be time to discuss whether you need to continue taking medication.

Research has yet to establish exactly how long patients need to have normal blood pressure after making lifestyle changes before stopping meds, but several studies have suggested waiting anywhere from six months to two years.

Ultimately, the decision is subjective, and each person's needs must be assessed individually. However, if you've lost weight, sustained a healthy diet and exercise program, and quit smoking, your healthcare provider may decide to have you try a trial period without medication.

If you stop taking your medication and your blood pressure goes up again, you can always resume treatment, along with continuing the lifestyle changes you've made.

When You Should Not Stop Medication

If your high blood pressure is due to non-modifiable factors like family history or variable ones (such as chronic disease), you may not be able to stop taking your medication.

This is especially true for older adults, as age is an independent risk factor for hypertension and tends to be associated with greater complexities in managing chronic illness.

What Is Normal Blood Pressure?

In 2017, the American College of Cardiology released its revised hypertension guidelines, which lowered the normal blood pressure threshold to 130/80 mm Hg (previously, the cut off was 140/90 mm Hg).

Making Informed Decisions

Making healthier lifestyle choices is about more than avoiding medications; it's also about improving the quality and length of your life.

Even if you've made lifestyle changes, your healthcare provider may not want you to stop treating your high blood pressure with medication. Listen to their reasons and try not to get discouraged.

You are not being punished and your healthcare provider's recommendation doesn't necessarily mean you're in poor health. In your case, your healthcare provider has decided that the benefits of continuing treatment outweigh the potential consequences of stopping.

While you might prefer to avoid pharmaceutical treatment, know that there is nothing inherently "bad" about taking medication to treat high blood pressure.

Antihypertensive medications are not addictive, and the side effects are generally manageable. However, there are different kinds of blood pressure medications.

Research has shown that the type that works best for one person with high blood pressure may not be the best choice for someone else. Your healthcare provider can help you decide which antihypertensive medication will be the safest and most effective.

A Word From Verywell

Even if changes in your lifestyle seem to have improved your blood pressure, never stop taking your medication without talking to your healthcare provider.

If you don't agree with your healthcare provider's advice to continue taking your blood pressure medication, you can get a second opinion. You have the right to make decisions about your health—just make sure your choices are informed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can you safely stop taking blood pressure medication?

Always check with your healthcare provider before stopping your blood pressure medication. Quitting some medications abruptly can cause serious health risks. Propranolol, a beta-blocker, can potentially cause chest pain or a heart attack if it's stopped suddenly.
How can your healthcare provider help you wean off blood pressure medication?

Your healthcare provider will help monitor your blood pressure over several weeks while slowly decreasing your dose of medication. You may need to stay at a lower dose for a while before you completely stop the medication. Your healthcare provider will help determine when it's safe to discontinue the medication.

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Tampa Cardiovascular Associates. Never just stop taking blood pressure medication. Updated September 23, 2019.

Additional Reading

Cook R, Lamont T, Martin, R. Lifestyle changes may be more important than drugs for mild hypertension. BMJ. February 2019:l571. doi:10.1136/bmj.l571
Iqbal AM, Jamal SF. Essential Hypertension - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Updated April 24, 2019.
Langan R, Jones K. Common questions about the initial management of hypertension. Am Fam Physician. 2015 Feb 1;91(3):172-7.
Nicoll R, Henein MY. Hypertension and lifestyle modification: how useful are the guidelines? British Journal of General Practice. 2010;60(581):879-880. doi:10.3399/bjgp10x544014