“Blood Pressure Medication Under Review After New Heart Risk Findings” — What Does It Mean?

This headline is too vague to identify a specific medicine. I found versions of the exact headline circulating on Facebook, but not a reliable medical source identifying one particular blood-pressure drug behind it. (Facebook)

Importantly, blood-pressure medicines as a group are not being shown to cause heart attacks simply because of this headline. In fact, treating high blood pressure appropriately generally reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular complications. (CiNii Research)

⚠️ Don’t stop your blood-pressure medicine

If you’re taking amlodipine, metoprolol, losartan, lisinopril, valsartan, hydrochlorothiazide, or another blood-pressure medication, don’t stop it based on a social-media post. Some medicines can cause problems if stopped abruptly.

If you send me the name of the medication mentioned in the article—or a screenshot of the post—I can check the specific new heart-risk finding and tell you whether the warning is legitimate.