Blood pressure medicines are usually continued on the day of surgery, often with a sip of water. If you are not allowed to eat or drink, your care team may still tell you to take your blood pressure medicine that morning with just a sip of water. Beta blockers and calcium channel blockers should be continued up to and including the day of surgery. Diuretics, which are water pills, are often held because of the overnight fast, but some people with severe heart failure may still take them. ACE inhibitors and ARBs are more mixed, because some teams continue them and some hold them, since either approach is considered acceptable in many cases.

It is also common to check your blood pressure in the days before surgery. If it is not well controlled, surgery may be delayed. On the day of surgery, a high reading can happen from anxiety, pain, or missed medicine. If a dose was missed, it is often given in the pre-op area.

Verify the exact plan with your surgical or anesthesia team in case they want something different for you.