Widely used pain killers, such as Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen or Aspirin may raise blood pressure when used regualarly by middle-aged men.

A new study looked at 16,031 men, with no history of hypertension, who provided information about their use of pain killers. After 4 years 1,968 of the subjects developed hypertension

Participants who said they used Acetaminophen six to seven days a week, had a 34 percent higher risk for hypertension than men who did not report using the drug. Men who took NSAIDs six or seven times a week had a 38 percent higher risk, and the risk for those using Aspirin increased by 26 percent. Men who used more than 15 pills of painkillers a week had a 48 percent higher risk of developing hypertension than men who used no painkillers at all.

The reason for these findings is not yet clear, and further research is needed to understand why some people are at risk while others can use these painkillers and not develop hypertension.