Yes, niacin taken in large doses can lower your blood pressure. If your blood pressure normally tests low, do not take niacin, because it could further lower your blood pressure. People with hypertension -- high blood pressure -- should not self-medicate with niacin. Other blood pressure medications may prove safer and more effective. If your doctor prescribes niacin, carefully observe his recommendations about dose.
Home Remedies for High Blood Pressure
Hypertension increases your risk for heart attacks and strokes. It certainly makes sense to take steps to reduce your risk. If you're looking for at-home solutions, change your diet and level of physical activity. You can help lower your blood pressure -- without creating additional health problems -- if you eat foods high in potassium, cut back on salt intake and add a moderate exercise to your daily routine. You can purchase niacin -- vitamin B-3 -- without a prescription, which makes it a tempting home remedy. But taking large doses -- 100 mg or more per day -- poses risks you shouldn't assume without a doctor's supervision.
Stroke Risk
Niacin may increase your risk for strokes, according to a government study. The National Institutes of Health ended a five-year niacin study 18 months earlier than planned when participants who took niacin suffered strokes at more than twice the rate as participants who did not take niacin. About half of the 3,414 participants took statins, a commonly prescribed drug to treat high cholesterol. The others took statins plus 2,000 mg daily of niacin. The combination therapy proved better at improving cholesterol levels than statins alone. But 28 -- 1.7 percent -- of the participants who took niacin suffered strokes, compared to 12 -- 0.7 percent -- of the people who did not take niacin.
Niacin Benefits
Niacin may help several conditions that affect your blood pressure, including high cholesterol, poor blood circulation and atherosclerosis -- hardening of the arteries. Cholesterol can clog your arteries, and the accumulation can make the walls of your arteries hard. This makes it more difficult for blood to flow freely to your heart and other vital organs, increasing blood pressure. Niacin proves effective in reducing the amount of unhealthy lipids -- low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides -- in your arteries and improving the levels of high-density lipoprotein. HDL, the "good" cholesterol, helps pull triglycerides and LDL out of your bloodstream. This helps improve blood flow and lower blood pressure.
Considerations
The results of the NIH study do not mean you should not take niacin. But they certainly suggest that you consult a physician before taking niacin. Niacin does not appear on a list of blood pressure medications compiled by the American Heart Association. Commonly prescribed medications include diuretics and beta blockers. If you take niacin, you may experience flushing -- redness, burning and tingling in your face and chest. Taking aspirin 30 minutes before taking niacin may alleviate flushing. You can also take timed-release formulas, but they increase your risk of sustaining liver damage.
References
- Medline Plus: Niacin and Niacinamide (Vitamin B-3)
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin B-3 (Niacin); June 18, 2009
- CBC News; Niacin Trial For Heart Disease Stopped Early; May 27, 2011
- National Institutes of Health: NIH Halts Clinical Trial on Combination Cholesterol Treatment; May 26, 2011
- MayoClinic.com; High Blood Pressure (Hypertension); March 22, 2011
- American Heart Association: About High Blood Pressure
