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What is the effect of the commonly used decongestant pseudoephedrine on blood pressure and heart rate? To answer this question, researchers performed a meta-analysis of 24 randomized placebo-controlled trials that involved 1285 people, most of whom were healthy young adults (mean age, 35).
Pseudoephedrine caused statistically significant, but small, increases in systolic blood pressure (1 mm Hg) and heart rate (3 beats/min). No change was observed in diastolic blood pressure. The effects of pseudoephedrine differed somewhat among certain subgroups (hypertensive vs. normotensive subjects; longer vs. shorter duration of treatment; higher vs. lower dose; immediate- vs. sustained-release preparations), but none of these differences were particul…