does anyone know if coming of simvastatin 40 mg after 5 + years will cause high blood pressure. very active run approx 35 km/ week.

also go to gym 3 times weekly and am vegetarian. dont smoke or drink. ?????????

[ursa]

Is your blood pressure normal now?

Actually, my blood pressure increased gradually when I was on simvastatin, but then increased significantly when I was told to switch to artovastatin. I stopped using statins altogether, and my blood pressure has not changed.

There may be other factors involved, but I do not think that coming off statins will increase your blood pressure

[Hidden in reply to ursa]

hi ursa

thanks for reply. unfortunately the bp is still high. better explain. i exercise alot and resting heart rate is +- 49 bpm. i am type 2 diabetic. pretty well controlled by tablets. had a minor heart attack 3.5 years ago. since then bp was good. but about a week ago i stopped the simvastatin because of concerns over muscle and general body pains (after trolling the internet) on monday during a gym session my heart rate rocketed to 185/88 and i felt a fluttering in my chest (no pain) next thing i know i was picking myself of the gym floor. since then my heart rate is permanently up around 165/88 even though my pulse is staying around 50. everything else in life is just the same so thinking it is because i stopped the simvastating. hoping this high pressure will drop off as my body gets acclimatized to no statins.

[florence5]

Hi, Can you give us some more information. Why were you prescribed statins 5 years ago and why have you decided to stop taking them now? What were your BP readings then and now? Are you on any other meds and do you have a cardiovascular condition?

[Hidden]

hi florence5 blood pressure was generally around 100/52. i am on other meds for diabetis (type 2). when diagnosed with type 2 doctor said that i would have to take simvastatin. although very gradual i have noticed a build up of pain in the body. initially put this down to the fact that i run allot and the body is getting older. but then spoke to a friend in america who had the same problem and since he stopped he has felt much better. i have had the usual run of tests on my heart and the specialist says the heart attack was very mild in fact he took me off simvastatin and gave me a fish oil capsule (sorry cant remember the name) but my gp tut tutted and said i had to start it again.

[florence5 in reply to Hidden]

I had extremely high blood pressure (233/116 at rest) which started quite suddenly and has been controlled by beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers for the last ten years. Following an angioplasty last year I have tried every statin and was unable to tolerate any of them. None of them affected my BP in any way, either when I took them or when I stopped. I would be inclined to take my heart specialist's advice over my GPs. It could be due to over exertion, but I think it would be a good idea to get your BP checked out and investigate the fluttering and collapse during exercise, just to be on the safe side, although I could understand why you might be reluctant to approach your GP again. I hope it settles down again soon. Good luck.

[Hidden]

Porridge in morning, wholemeal toast at lunch, and fish and steamed veg at dinner. Obviously not the same all the time but that's fairly typical. Drink about 3 litres of water daily plus unfortunately quite a bit of black coffee.

[DakCB-UK]

I've been on and off statins overt years. no blood pressure problems correlated with it AFAIK but it maybe happens

[mgdoble]

Hi

I stopped taking atorvastatin 40mg, two months ago. During the year I was taking it, at the same time, I tried many different types of blood pressure medications to try and reduce very high blood pressure. The end point was my evening blood pressure reading was 135/80, treated with doxazin, and a combination tablet lozartan/hydrochlorothiazide. As soon as I stopped taking the statin my blood pressure plumetted. I halved the quantity of both blood pressure tablets and waited till it stabilised. Now I have evening readings of 125/75 and morning 120/75. The atorvastatin was adding at least 10 points to my systolic reading, and this is a conservative estimate because I have halved the BP medication. I have blood pressure readings taken twice a day over this time period but I suspect that a doctor would not believe statins have this effect.

[Snoopy10]

I was taking simvastin 40mg for around 10yrs and then stopped it due to muscle pain etc. My blood pressure never rose. It was always around 100/55 and still is the same