Expert: Meg Jordan, PhD, RN - 10/9/2009

Question
My husband has been treated for high blood pressure for years. He recently underwent a series of injections of hyaluronate in one of his knees. Within days, his blood pressure spiked (in the evening) and went up quite high. This has continued to occur and only at night. He added blood pressure med to get the readings down. He loses considerable sleep waiting for the BP to level. Is it possible the injections get into the bloodstream and cause problems such as this?

Answer
Commonly, use of hyaluronic acid for arthritis has only noted side effects of redness or swelling or sometimes allergic reactions at the injection site. I couldn't find blood pressure problems in the literature -- but that doesn't mean it can't happen.  Your husband may well have an idiosyncratic reaction to the substance that results in a temporary spike in blood pressure. He could talk to his doctor about natural means for reducing blood pressure in the evening (relaxation training, the DASH diet, etc.) with the hope of reducing the BP and meds.  Good luck to him!