Hydration status and cardiovascular health intertwine closely. Dehydration can lead to blood pressure changes, while some medications may cause dehydration.
- Dehydration can cause the heart to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. Taking medications for high blood pressure may lead to dehydration.
- Water constitutes more than half of the adult body, and body fluid highly affects cardiovascular function.
- Dehydration occurs when the body loses more fluid than a person takes in. Chronic dehydration complicates many medical conditions and is a frequent cause of hospital admissions.
- High blood pressure (hypertension) happens when the force of blood against the blood vessel walls is consistently too high. Nearly 50 in 100 American adults have hypertension.
Dehydration and hypertension are two conditions that can have profound health implications. Aside from this, the two conditions may directly affect one another.
Dehydration can lead to high blood pressure (hypertension) by constricting blood vessels, while many medications that doctors prescribe to treat hypertension may cause dehydration. Because of this, those with hypertension must stay hydrated and maintain a healthy lifestyle to manage their high blood pressure. Additionally, those taking medications for hypertension should drink plenty of fluids and regularly replenish their water intake to counter any potential dehydration side effects.
Medication and dehydration: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are drugs that doctors frequently prescribe for people with hypertension. One of the side effects of these drugs is dehydration.
Hypertension typically develops over time and shows no warning signs or symptoms. However, those with very high blood pressure—180/120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or higher—can experience the following symptoms:
- severe headaches
- chest pain
- difficulty breathing
- nausea and vomiting
- anxiety
- confusion
- vision changes, such as blurred vision
- dizziness
Symptoms of hypertension and dehydration: The following are the most common symptoms of dehydration:
- fatigue
- thirst
- dry skin and lips
- dark urine
- decreased urine output
- headaches
- lightheadedness
- muscle cramps
- fainting (syncope)
- orthostatic hypotension
- palpitations
Treatments for hypertension and dehydration: Doctors may ask people to replenish their fluids by drinking water. This does not raise blood pressure in younger people with healthy kidneys. They may evaluate a person’s heart rate and blood pressure when lying, sitting, and standing (which health professionals call “orthostatic vital signs”). This is to assess dehydration requiring rapid fluid replacement through intravenous (IV) or oral fluids.
Treatment for high blood pressure involves adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle with or without medications. Doctors may recommend a person makes the following habit changes to control or lower high blood pressure:
- eat heart-healthy foods
- maintain regular physical activity
- keep a healthy weight
- avoid or limit alcohol
- quit smoking
- manage stress
- get enough good quality sleep
Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/hypertension-and-dehydration.
Additional sources:
About high blood pressure. (2021).
https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm.
Hypertension. (2023).
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension.
Taylor, K., et al. (2022). Adult dehydration.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555956/
The importance of water. (2019). The importance of water.
https://theheartfoundation.org/2019/03/08/the-importance-of-water/.
