Does taking HGH raise your blood pressure?

Growth hormone has important actions for heart health, and, therefore, blood pressure. HGH impacts cardiac structure as well as contractility. Adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) may suffer from increased systemic vascular resistance along with abnormal vascular reactivity. Both high blood pressure and atherosclerosis are increasingly prevalent when growth hormone deficiency is present. That brings us to the HGH blood pressure connection that can lead to increased cardiovascular mortality. We are going to look at HGH and high blood pressure from two aspects – acromegaly associated with excess levels of HGH and growth hormone deficiency due to declining HGH production. Both conditions, acromegaly and growth hormone deficiency, can cause high blood pressure. The fact that too much HGH can cause similar effects as too little speaks volumes about the need to maintain proper hormonal balance in the body. While some of the factors associated with HGH address blood pressure levels directly, others have an indirect impact. Growth hormone deficiency impairs metabolic functions, causing the body to convert the food you eat into fat rather than fuel. As the body gains weight, it places more of a strain on the heart. In return, the heart must increase the force with which it pumps blood to the body. The result is high blood pressure levels. Sleep apnea, insulin resistance, and stress are also factors in high blood pressure that are associated with GHD.

Whether high or low, growth hormone levels that are not in proper balance can contribute to high blood pressure.

What Does High Blood Pressure Mean?

If you have high blood pressure, it means that the forcing of blood against your arterial walls is higher than normal. The effect could lead to an increased risk of heart disease. Many people have no idea they have high blood pressure – also called hypertension. Although you may be asymptomatic, the damage is ongoing. Both stroke and heart attack risk increase exponentially the longer high blood pressure goes unchecked. When you have low levels of HGH, high blood pressure risk increases because your arteries may suffer blockage from plaque buildup inside their walls. Plaque is leftover LDL cholesterol that was not removed from the arteries by HDL cholesterol. While your body requires LDL cholesterol as a basis for hormone steroid hormone production, too much is detrimental to your health and your heart. Advanced age, obesity, and lack of exercise can lead to high blood pressure. You can also view this condition as hereditary as high blood pressure runs in families. Other factors contributing to high blood pressure include:

Tobacco use
Excess dietary sodium
Consuming too much alcohol
Not enough dietary potassium
Stress
Race – African heritage increases risk
Diabetes
Sleep apnea
Kidney disease

High blood pressure is caused by excessive force of blood against the arterial walls.

How Does Growth Hormone Influence Blood Pressure?

The HGH blood pressure influence comes from endothelial dysfunction, increased sympathetic tone, plasma volume expansion, vascular compliance changes, and direct renal (kidney) effects. Oxidative stress is another issue that has much to do with both growth hormone and blood pressure levels. When you have oxidative stress, you suffer from an imbalance between the antioxidants and free radicals in your body. Free radicals are important because they contain oxygen and have an uneven number that makes it easy for them to interact with other molecules to cause large chain chemical reactions. Those reactions are called oxidation – which, depending on the action, can have a positive or negative impact. Antioxidants can give a free radical an electron without creating instability in the antioxidant. The free radical can become stable in this manner and less reactive. How can HGH raise blood pressure levels through oxidative stress? People with growth hormone deficiency tend to have higher levels of oxidative stress. When that imbalance occurs, the antioxidants cannot prevent the free radicals from damaging DNA, proteins, and fatty tissue in the body. The result of this action is an increased risk of conditions such as:

High blood pressure
Heart disease
Atherosclerosis
Diabetes
Cancer
Inflammatory conditions
Neurodegenerative disease
Premature aging

Oxidative stress increases hypertrophy, collagen deposition, and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. Those issues can cause vascular media thickening and vascular lumen narrowing. Additional effects of oxidative stress that contribute to high blood pressure include endothelium damage, increased vascular contractile activity, and impaired endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation.

Human growth hormone deficiency is often associated with oxidative stress – an indicator of high blood pressure levels.

Can HGH Increase Blood Pressure Levels?

Whether you have low or high levels of HGH, the answer to can HGH increase blood pressure is yes. Both situations can lead to hypertension, which can have a detrimental effect on heart health. Maintaining human growth hormone balance is critical for all parts of the body, but especially for the heart and vascular system. Using HGH injections illegally puts a person at risk for acromegaly due to very high growth hormone levels. Not only does this increase the risk of diabetes and other health factors, but it can substantially increase the incidence of hypertension-related heart attacks. For people with a deficiency in HGH, blood pressure levels must also be carefully monitored right along with all the other health factors affected by the decline.

It is essential to maintain proper human growth hormone balance to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.

Can You Use Human Growth Hormone to Lower Blood Pressure Levels?

Treatment with supplemental HGH lowers blood pressure for many adults dealing with growth hormone deficiency. Another issue we often see with growth hormone deficiency adults is an alteration in extracellular water volume (ECW). Adults with GHD often have decreased ECW levels which HGH therapy can help. Additionally, by increasing the levels of HGH, blood pressure readings can often decline as reduced LDL cholesterol levels help reverse the plaque buildup. For adults dealing with elevated HGH levels, it is first necessary to look at the cause. If illegal HGH use is behind the problem, stopping the treatment will help return HGH levels to normal. By decreasing the level of HGH, blood pressure readings often begin to normalize. Please contact our hormone clinic with any questions about hormonal imbalance and treatment options. Consultations are confidential and provided at no charge.