For those who have high blood pressure, taking a prescription medication can literally be life-saving. While medications are never a substitute for having healthy diet and lifestyle habits in place, scientific studies have shown just how powerful blood pressure-lowering medications can be.
For example, according to a 2024 scientific study published in Cureus, taking a blood pressure-lowering medication significantly reduced high blood pressure in elderly adults with hypertension, which in turn reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke.
As with any other medication, it’s important to know how certain foods and drinks can interact with blood pressure medications. That way, you can ensure you get the maximum benefit from the medication while staying safe. With this in mind, there’s one drink combo that a pharmacist says most people don’t realize can negatively interact with blood pressure medications.
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The Drink Combo To Avoid if You’re Taking Medication for High Blood Pressure
It’s common to reach for an energy drink when feeling fatigued, but if you’re taking medication for high blood pressure, you may want to avoid it—especially if you like to combine it with a sugary drink, like grape juice. It’s a surprisingly common combination, and Welch’s Grape Juice even has its own energy drink.
Dr. Taylor Clark, PharmD, a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Studies, explains that high-caffeine drinks can raise blood pressure. She shares that caffeine increases blood pressure by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system and releasing catecholamines, which are molecules that act as neurotransmitters and hormones (AKA chemical messengers).
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“This may directly negate the effects of blood pressure-lowering medications. Because of this, it is recommended that patients with hypertension limit caffeine consumption. The 2025 hypertension guidelines suggest consuming less than 300 milligrams of caffeine per day, and in patients with severe, uncontrolled hypertension, anything greater than one caffeinated beverage per day should be avoided,” Dr. Clark says.
When you combine a high-caffeinated drink with a drink high in sugar (like soda or fruit juice) the impact can be even worse. This is because sugary drinks are scientifically linked to raising blood pressure. She explains that even some drinks many people consider healthy, like grape juice, can be high in sugar or artificial sweeteners.
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“A meta-analysis investigating the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on cardiometabolic diseases demonstrated increased risk of hypertension, stroke and all-cause mortality with intake of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages. The data suggest higher rates of consumption are associated with a higher risk of cardiometabolic disease,” Dr. Clark says, adding that research shows that regularly consuming sugar-sweetened fruit juice is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
“While it did not directly correlate with hypertension, diabetes is a known risk factor for hypertension,” she says.
A Safer Way To Boost Your Energy
As the scientific research shows, it’s not a great idea to rely on sugary, highly caffeinated drinks for an energy boost—advice everyone can benefit from following. If you’re taking a blood pressure-lowering medication, you may be wondering what a safer way to boost your energy is.
If you do want to have an energy drink, Dr. Clark suggests first checking the label and making sure the caffeine content isn’t greater than 300 milligrams, which would be unsafe. But you can absolutely still have coffee: One cup of coffee typically has about 95 milligrams of caffeine.
If you have uncontrolled hypertension, Dr. Clark says to keep coffee consumption to one cup a day, keeping in line with the 2025 hypertension guidelines previously mentioned. She points to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association showing that participants with hypertension who had two to three cups of coffee a day had a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Related: The One Habit That Can Lower Your Blood Pressure Overnight, According to a Cardiologist
Green tea is a safer bet when it comes to enjoying a caffeinated drink if you have hypertension. Dr. Clark says that the same study shows that drinking green tea (which has between 20 and 50 milligrams of caffeine per cup) was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, drinking green tea every day is a great way to support your heart. It’s extremely high in antioxidants, which help prevent inflammation, a main driver of heart disease.
Consider this a good reminder that taking a blood pressure-lowering medication is not a substitute for having healthy dietary habits in place. It’s still important to pay attention to what you eat and drink, including the caffeine and sugar content in your go-to drinks. That way, you can get the maximum benefits out of your medication.
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Sources:
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Dr. Taylor Clark, PharmD, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Studies
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Chaudhry, R., Siddique, Y. A., Sebai, A., et al. (2024). The Efficacy of Antihypertensive Drugs in Lowering Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Events in the Elderly Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Cureus. 16(1):e.52053
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Writing Committee Members, Jones, D. W., Ferdinand, K. C., et al. (2025). AHA/ACC/AANP/AAPA/ABC/ACCP/ACPM/AGS/AMA/ASPC/NMA/PCNA/SGIM Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines.Hypertension. Volume 82, Number 10. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYP.0000000000000249
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Malik, A. H., Akram, Y., Shetty, S., et al. (2014). Impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on blood pressure. American Journal of Cardiology. 113(9):1574-1580
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Li, B., Yan, N., Jiang, H., et al. (2023). Consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages and fruit juices and risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and mortality: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Nutrition. 10:1019534. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1019534.
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Xi, B., Li, S., Liu, Z., et al. (2014). Intake of Fruit Juice and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS One. 9(3):e93471
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Teramoto, M., Yamagishi, K., Muraki, I., et al. (2023). Coffee and Green Tea Consumption and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among People With and Without Hypertension. Journal of the American Heart Association. 12(2):e026477
This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 7, 2025, where it first appeared in the Health & Wellness section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.