What Causes Fluctuations In BP After Taking Amlodipine?

Posted on Wed, 5 Oct 2016

Question: My BP for the last 24 hours is averaging 158/103. I went to my doctor and they did an ECG which was normal. They suggested I take 5mg of amlodipine and wait an hour. They said to take another 5mg in an hour if it didn't start going down. After 1 hour it was down to 139/91. Approximately 3 hours later it was back up to 153/98. I took another dose and an hour later it is still 153/97. I have been having some tightness in my chest and a slight headache. Since the amlodipine doesn't seem to be lowering it, what should I do? With a normal ECG, is there any reason to be concerned and pursue further treatment?

Answered by Dr. Lilit Baghdasaryan (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
May take a small dose of diuretic if still have high blood pressure

Detailed Answer:
Dear Mrs,

Headache and tightness in chest are caused by high blood pressure and they will disappear with the normalisation of blood pressure. If it still high after two doses of Amlodipin, I would advise you to take a small dose of diuretics, such as thyazids or furosemid. Don't worry, your blood pressure is not too high. And with normal ECG there is no need for further treatment, you just need to monitor your blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure in the future, I would advise you to take captopril or enalapril instead of Amlodipin, they start to act quicker than Amlodipin and their effect is shorter, so they have no tendency to cause low blood pressure afterwards.

Take care

Come back if you have any further questions

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