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Blood pressure and Esbriet
I am a newly diagnosed 64 year old IPF patient who was first diagnosed in early August 2020 and who started Esbriet on Aug 19th. Prior to my diagnosis I had noticed a shortness of breath and coughing. Before proceeding to a pulmonologist I first went to a cardiologist to see if my issues were heart related. My heart was okay but I did have a slightly high blood pressure. My high end pressures were 130 to 155 and my low end was 85 to 95. I was given a temp prescription to take a blood pressure medicine for 60 days and asked to record my pressures in the am before taking the medication and 6 hrs later when the medicine had had enough time to take effect. My post medication pressures for the high end were 110 to 130 and for the low end 70 to 90. My blood pressure medication ran out the day after I started taking Esbriet. I continued to take and log the readings. Abruptly I noticed my blood pressure was consistently lower with my readings for the high end being 100 to 120 and the low end being 65 to 90.
During an unsolicited call from a Genetech nurse two weeks ago I asked if this blood pressure drop was a known side effect of the drug and if this could be the reason that dizziness is a listed side effect. She stated she did not know, she had never ran across anyone who was observing their blood pressure as detailed as I was. At the end of last week I took blood pressure very shortly after I had taken my 3 pills with breakfast and the pressure was higher than it had been in the last thirty days. The next morning I took my blood pressure before taking any Esbriet and it was back up to 155/93. I took my medicine and two and 1/2 hours later my blood pressure was 106/72. For such a short time period I was shocked by the drop.
Has this been observed by anyone else taking Esbriet?
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2 Replies
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@gregford
I am now 80 years old. My occupation before retirement required frequent blood pressure readings. My pressures always showed 120 over 80 and now in retirement and on three Esbriets daily (spread over the waking hours …breakfast, lunch and evening) my pressures when relaxed are usually 110 or slightly less over 70 or slightly less.
It might be true to say that Esbriet doesn’t seem to raise blood pressure but perhaps we need more reports from patients who have one of the smaller devices and can monitor their readings.
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Hello Bob and Greg, thank you both for sharing your experience with Esbriet and fluctuating blood pressure. I hope an answer can be provided for both of you. I’m sorry I don’t have and personal experience with Esbriet to add my 2 cents. Please take care and breath easy Bob and Greg.
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@gregford
Hi Greg,
Thank you so much for sharing this information, and I hope others can chime in if they’d have issues with blood pressure while taking Esbriet. I unfortunately don’t have any personal experience with Esbriet, so I can’t share too much, but how unfortunate that the Genentech nurse didn’t know either.
Has anyone else had issues with their blood pressure since starting Esbriet, or even prior to it?
Typically, I ran with low blood pressure before my diagnosis and we investigated my heart as well when I was noticing shortness of breath and dry, chronic cough. My heart checked out okay and now my BP is a little higher than normal, because my heart is over compensating for my poor lung function. I haven’t noticed a difference in my blood pressure since started Ofev either. I hope someone can share some insight here for you!
Thanks for writing.
Charlene.
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