High blood pressure is a chronic medical condition that wreaks havoc on your health. Luckily, you can make medications and lifestyle changes to lower your blood pressure and improve your health.
Staying on your medications is the only surefire way to keep your blood pressure in check. So what happens when you're about to undergo surgery, and you're requested to stop your medications?
If you need orthopaedic surgery, Dr. Brandon Downs and the team at Orthopaedic Specialists can help. Dr. Downs offers various forms of orthopaedic surgery and advises you on what medications to continue before surgery and which ones to stop.
High blood pressure is a dangerous condition that leads to chronic issues over time. While high blood pressure is dangerous daily, it's even more so when undergoing surgery.
You must know the dangers of high blood pressure if you're having surgery with Dr. Downs. If you stop taking your medications, it can lead to severe complications during each stage of your procedure, including:
These risks increase if you don't control your blood pressure, even on medications. The best thing you can do before you consider surgery is talk to Dr. Downs about your concerns.
Before he schedules you for a procedure, Dr. Downs thoroughly evaluates your overall health to determine you're a good candidate. Even with high blood pressure, you can typically have surgery if you control it beforehand.
Before your procedure, our team directs you on what medications you can continue to take and which ones you should stop before surgery. For example, we advise you to stop taking aspirin up to a week before surgery to lower your risk of bleeding.
However, blood pressure medication is vital to your health and wellness before, during, and after surgery. In most cases, you should continue taking your blood pressure medications in the days leading up to surgery.
Certain medications work differently to control your blood pressure, so you should discuss your medications with our team before surgery. If you're on ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, Dr. Downs may want you to hold them for a day before surgery.
It's more dangerous to stop taking your medications in the days leading up to surgery. If you suddenly stop taking most blood pressure medications, it can cause your blood pressure to rise substantially during your procedure, putting you at risk for heart attack and stroke.
