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Hypertensive patients frequently ask whether they can safely take over-the-counter decongestants. This study examined the cardiovascular effects of pseudoephedrine in 28 patients with controlled hypertension, 15 of whom were taking two or more antihypertensive drugs.
The subjects were given either placebo or sustained- release pseudoephedrine (120 mg twice a day) for 72 hours. After an 11-day washout period, each subject received the other treatment. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were several millimeters of mercury higher during pseudoephedrine treatment at both 48 and 72 hours, but these increases were not statistically significant. The same upward trend was seen with heart rate, but this was also not significant.
Short-ter…