Drugs May Reduce High Blood Pressure Headaches

Over a hundred years have passed since the first argument stated that high blood pressure can cause headaches. However, during that hundred years, it has also been found that people with headaches, do not always have high blood pressure headaches.

Some researchers contend that drugs taken to reduce high blood pressure also reduce headaches, but have not found definite ties to high blood pressure headaches. In a recent study in London, researchers were able to show a 33 percent reduction in headaches compared to a study group given blood pressure lowering medication against a group given placebos.

While the research was indicative of high blood pressure headaches, the lead researcher noted it wasn’t ready to recommend blood pressure lowering medication based on the benefit to only a third of the patients reporting fewer incidents. He also reinforced the notion that headaches are one of several symptoms of high blood pressure, not all headache sufferers have high blood pressure.

Some Pressure Lowering Drugs Used For Headache

For many years beta-blockers have been used to treat migraine headaches and have become pretty much the standard for migraine treatment. Beta-blockers are also one of the types of drugs used to lower blood pressure. Although migraines are not considered to be high blood pressure headaches, high blood pressure medication does seem to help.

Headache studies have shown that some headaches are caused by an intolerance to nitrates which dilate blood vessels and the pain is associated when the vessels in the brain expand from the dilation. In some, high blood pressure headaches may be caused by nitrates which are in some high blood pressure medications.

With a study of 94 patients showing one-third less having headaches, it still isn’t clear if the headache reduction was caused by lowered blood pressure or a separate benefit of the pharmacological use of the drug. Whichever the case, it still hasn’t been defined that high blood pressure headaches are as much a real concern as the headache itself.