Can Cosentyx (secukinumab) cause high blood pressure?
Cosentyx is not widely known for causing high blood pressure as a common side effect in labeling summaries, but blood-pressure changes can happen with many immune-modulating medicines and biologics. If you’re seeing consistently higher readings after starting Cosentyx, the safest next step is to report it to the clinician who prescribed it, since they can review your readings, other medications, and timing.
What else could raise blood pressure while you’re on Cosentyx?
If blood pressure rises after starting Cosentyx, the cause may be unrelated to the drug itself. Common factors that can coincide with starting or switching therapies include:
- Steroid tapering or stopping (steroids can affect blood pressure)
- Pain, inflammation, or stress levels changing
- Weight changes
- Salt intake, alcohol use, or reduced activity
- New or changed medications (including NSAIDs like ibuprofen/naproxen, decongestants, and some supplements)
When should high blood pressure be treated urgently?
Seek urgent care (or emergency services) if you have high blood pressure along with warning symptoms such as chest pain, severe headache, shortness of breath, weakness/numbness on one side, confusion, or vision changes. If readings are extremely high even without symptoms, clinicians typically recommend urgent evaluation.
What should patients do if their readings go up after starting Cosentyx?
- Start tracking blood pressure twice daily (morning and evening) for several days, with a note of doses and any other meds you take.
- Contact the prescribing doctor with those numbers and the dates they started.
- Do not stop Cosentyx on your own unless your clinician tells you to.
Are there alternative psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis biologics if BP is an issue?
If a clinician believes the timing suggests Cosentyx is contributing, they may consider switching to a different class (for example, IL-17 inhibitors vs TNF inhibitors vs IL-12/23, depending on your diagnosis). The best choice depends on your condition (psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis), other health problems, and how your body responds.
If you share your typical blood pressure readings (before vs after starting), how long after the first Cosentyx dose the change began, and any other meds (including NSAIDs or steroids), I can help you think through the most likely explanations to discuss with your clinician.