Does Melatonin Worsen Hypertension?

Posted on Mon, 14 Sep 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 14 Sep 2015 Answered on

Tue, 6 Oct 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : My mom is 91. Uses a walker. Mentally sharp...Shes having trouble sleeping at night in her bed ....she may go to sleep and wakes at 3:30am and cant go back... Or not be able to sleep when she goes..and we need to know if melatonin has side effects we need to watch for. She has htn and is mostly controlled with htn meds. Has afib controlled and chf controlled. She doesnt like benedryl or tylenol pm.we are worried about effect of melatonin on her htn... And other side effects

Answered by Dr. Ajay Panwar (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
It does not worsen hypertension.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for being on healthcaremagic.com.
I am Dr.Ajay Panwar,a neurologist,here to answer your query.

Melatonin is a sleep promoting drug which has been frequently reported to improve high blood pressure.In other words,it is beneficial for hypertension,rather than being harmful.
Common side effects are-
Daytime sleepiness
Headache
Dizziness
Other side effects may be anxiety,irritability or confusion.

Hope that I have answered your query.If you have some further questions,I shall be glad to answer else please close the thread,rate it and write a review as your rating will be of help to me.

Regards
Dr.Ajay Panwar,
MD,DM(Neurology)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar