Depression Lowers Blood Pressure, but Antidepressants increase it and Tricyclics could be a Cause

Contrary to prevailing opinion, new research indicates it is not depression that raises blood pressure but the drugs used to treat depression

Investigators at the VU University Medical Center, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, show that depression is associated with low — not high — blood pressure but that taking certain antidepressants, particularly tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), tends to raise blood pressure and increase the risk for hypertension.

Lead author Carmilla Licht, from the department of psychiatry at VU University Medical Center, stated that, “Doctors should at least be aware of a potential blood-pressure rise that could be linked to TCA use, especially for patients with cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure or others who are at risk for hypertension.”

“They may consider meticulously monitoring these patients’ blood pressure when they prescribe one of these antidepressants or consider prescribing another antidepressant medication.”

The study is published online February 23 in Hypertension.