Professor Amitava Banerjee, a heart expert at University College London, states that many patients don't like taking blood pressure medicines because they can trigger side effects in the short-term and have no immediate benefit since high blood pressure is often symptomless. Approximately nine million Britons are prescribed blood pressure tablets every year, but studies show that nearly half of these patients fail to regularly take their daily tablets, with around a fifth not taking them at all. The article features letters from Mail on Sunday readers who experienced severe side effects such as swollen ankles, chronic coughing, and frequent urination after starting blood pressure medication. Experts agree that lifestyle changes can help some patients safely come off the medication for good, rather than assuming they need to take it indefinitely.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
Blood pressure tablets are some of the most widely prescribed drugs in the UK – but many patients are not taking them as instructed.
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patients → prescribe → them
The pills, given to about nine million Britons every year, are crucial as they reduce the risk of deadly heart attacks and strokes.
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they → give → attacks
Yet despite their lifesaving properties, studies show that, shockingly, almost half of blood pressure patients fail to regularly take their daily tablets.
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half → show → tablets
And around a fifth do not take them at all.
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fifth → take → them
One reason for this is that many people, particularly older adults, struggle to remember to take their pills every day.
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people → struggle → pills
But for others the reason is more worrying: uncomfortable side effects that make life unpleasant.
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life → make → others
It’s familiar to many Mail on Sunday readers.
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It → ’ → readers
Last week, after our resident GP columnist Dr Ellie Cannon wrote about blood pressure pill side-effects, we received dozens of letters from readers who shared their experiences.
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who → write → experiences
One 82-year-old man told how his tablets had left him with swollen ankles and diarrhoea.
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tablets → tell → ankles
A 62-year-old woman described how the drugs had given her chronic coughing that felt like there was a ‘frog in her throat’ at all times.
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that → describe → times
Another reader, a 74-year-old man, said how he had a constant need to go to the toilet since starting on the medication.
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he → say → medication
In some cases, readers admitted that they had stopped taking their tablets due to the severity of the side effects.
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they → admit → effects
There are even some concerns that these drugs could raise the risk of other diseases.
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drugs → be → diseases
Last month, an Israeli study found that patients taking a class known as calcium-channel blockers were at a higher risk of developing kidney disease.
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patients → find → disease
Experts stress that, in the vast majority of cases, blood pressure pills are not only safe but life-saving.
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pills → stress → cases
However, they admit that side effects can be challenging.
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effects → admit → ?
Blood pressure is measured with two numbers.
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pressure → measure → numbers
The first, called systolic pressure, shows the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts and pumps blood out.
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heart → call → blood
The second, the diastolic pressure, measures pressure in the arteries when the heart relaxes between beats (picture posed by model)
‘Many patients don’t like taking their blood pressure medicines because, in the short-term, they can trigger side effects and have no obvious benefit because high blood pressure is symptomless,’ says Professor Amitava Banerjee, a heart expert at University College London.
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Banerjee → measure → London
‘The problem is that, in the long-run, these drugs save lives.’
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drugs → save → lives
Tablets are not the only option for these patients – lifestyle changes could allow them to safely come off the medication for good.
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them → allow → medication
‘Many patients assume they have to be on them for life, but that’s not always the case,’ says Professor Banerjee.
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Banerjee → assume → life
‘Yes, there are patients who will need to kee taking the pills indefinitely, but for some, lifestyle changes can get blood pressure down to a point where you no longer need to take the tablets.’
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you → be → tablets
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries.
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pressure → push → arteries
This pressure is created by the heart – each time it beats, it squeezes blood into the arteries so it can circulate around the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to organs and tissues.
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it → create → organs
A certain level of pressure is needed to move blood and oxygen around the body, and this naturally rises and falls throughout the day.
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this → need → day
When blood pressure is consistently too high it puts strain on the arteries.
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it → put → arteries
Over time they can become damaged and narrower, making it easier for fatty deposits to build up.
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deposits → become → time
This raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
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This → raise → attacks
Blood pressure is measured with two numbers.
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pressure → measure → numbers
The first, called systolic pressure, shows the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts and pumps blood out.
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heart → call → blood
The second, the diastolic pressure, measures pressure in the arteries when the heart relaxes between beats.
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heart → measure → beats
A normal reading is usually around 120 for systolic pressure and 80 for diastolic, written as 120/80.
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reading → write → 120/80
Readings that are consistently above 140/90 are classed as high blood pressure.
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that → class → pressure
Around a third of adults are now believed to have the condition, also known as hypertension.
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third → believe → hypertension
And studies suggest that many of these patients are unaware they have the problem.
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they → suggest → problem
Experts say this is alarming because anyone with high blood pressure has a heightened risk of death.
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anyone → say → death
‘Hypertension is one of the most common causes of death in the UK,’ says Professor Banerjee.
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Banerjee → say → UK
‘That’s why it is so important that it is treated.
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it → ’ → ?
Blood pressure pills are designed to counteract this danger – usually by relaxing the walls of the blood vessels.
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pills → design → vessels
…and 85 more, not listed.
