New guidelines reveal how to lower blood pressure
The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have guidelines to help manage blood pressure and reduce hypertension-related risks.
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More than half a million bottles of blood pressure medication are being recalled over a cancer-causing chemical connected to the prescription drug, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, issued a voluntary recall on Oct. 7 for some of the prazosin hydrochloride capsules it distributed. The FDA classified it as a Class II risk level on Oct. 24.
According to the FDA, a Class II risk is a situation “in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
The risk classification from the federal agency indicates the recalled medication may contain nitrosamine impurities also called “N-nitroso Prazosin impurity C.” Exposure to the product can lead to severe health risks, the FDA reported.
Here’s what to know about the recall, including how many bottles have been recalled, and how it affects people with high blood pressure in Massachusetts.
What blood pressure medicine is being recalled?
The recall involves more than 580,000 prazosin hydrochloride capsules distributed by Teva Pharmaceuticals.
The prescription affects:
- 1 mg capsules: 181,659 bottles.
- 2 mg capsules: 291,512 bottles.
- 5 mg capsules: 107,673 bottles.
The bottles may contain anywhere from 100 to 1,000 capsules, according to the FDA.
The drug was approved by the FDA to treat high blood pressure, but sometimes prescribed off-label to help manage symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, particularly nightmares and sleep problems. The medication works by relaxing blood vessels, improving blood flow and reducing blood pressure.
What should people do with recalled medication?
Neither Teva nor the FDA issued guidance on what to do with the recalled tablets.
But according to GoodRx, anyone affected by a drug recall is advised to check their medication’s lot number, contact their pharmacist as well as their prescriber and throw away the recalled medication.
A 2019 Harvard Health Publishing article said that you shouldn’t stop taking your blood pressure medication without first consulting your doctor.
USA TODAY has reached out to Teva for comment.
How many people in Massachusetts have high blood pressure/hypertension?
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is defined as a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher.
High blood pressure can raise a person’s risk of heart attack or heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, eyesight loss and death, the Massachusetts General Hospital website said.
America’s Health Rankings said that 31% of adults in Massachusetts reported that they were told they had high blood pressure by a health professional.
A hypertension mortality map from the Centers for Disease Control said that Massachusetts had 719 deaths from high blood pressure in 2023.
Contributing: James Powel and Alex Perry