MONDAY, June 15, 2026 (NewsDay News) — Among patients with pre-existing hypertension taking antihypertensive drugs, the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) is associated with an increased incidence of hypotension, according to a study presented at the ENDO20 annual meeting. from June 13 to 16 in Chicago.
Thomas Locasio, of Northwestern Medicine in Park Ridge, Illinois, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study among outpatients prescribed semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide. The sample included 42,262 patients aged 18 years and older who received at least two courses of antihypertensive medication and had a documented blood pressure measurement. At six, 12, and 24 months after initiation of RA GLP-1, these patients were evaluated for hypotensive events. Changes in blood pressure were compared among 54,682 patients treated with similar antihypertensive therapy with and without prescription GLP-1 RA.
The researchers found that the rate of hypotensive events at six, 12, and 24 months was significantly higher in patients who started GLP-1 RA. Hypotension increased from 8.7 to 10.2%, from 13.6 to 14.3% and from 17.7 to 18.1% in six months, 12 and 24 months, respectively. Patients older than 65 years and patients with type 2 diabetes often had episodes of hypotension. During this time, about 25 percent of patients had their antihypertensive medications reduced or their prescribed antihypertensive medications reduced.
Senior author Micah J. “The take-home part of our abstract is that this is preventable,” Eimer, MD, also of Northwestern Medicine, said in a statement. “This is something that clinicians should look for and be able to recognize.”
