What Causes Increases In Blood Pressure
Even if youre being treated for high blood pressure, your pressures will still rise after exercising. Walking, taking the stairs, and even lifting or moving supplies can all cause your blood pressure to increase.
How much your pressure rises depends on how high it is to begin with and how conditioned your cardiovascular system is.
The better shape you’re in, the less your blood pressure will rise with increased physical activity. People who are out of shape will have the same blood pressure increase with much less physical activity than people who have good cardiovascular health.
Orthostatic Hypotension Blood Pressure When You Stand Up From Sitting Or Lying Down
If you stand up from a sitting or lying down position and experience orthostatic hypotension, it is likely that your systolic blood pressure has decreased at least 20 mm/HG or your diastolic blood pressure has decreased at least 10 mm/HG within three minutes of standing. It is not uncommon to feel a slight drop in blood pressure and, perhaps, experience a slight lightheaded feeling, but when the feeling lasts for a few minutes and when it happens on a regular basis, you should see a doctor. Orthostatic hypotension or postural hypotension can be a sign of a serious health problem.
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When Youve Just Been Diagnosed
| I’m fit and healthy, so why do I have high blood pressure? |
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For many people, there is no single specific cause of their high blood pressure. Your genes can play a role: youre more likely to develop high blood pressure if youre from an African-Caribbean or South-Asian background or people in your family have had high blood pressure. You can lower your risk of high blood pressure by leading a healthy lifestyle. If you have high blood pressure, medicines and a healthy lifteyle will help to lower it. |
These tests help your doctor to:
You may need more detailed investigations, your doctor will discuss these with you. Find out more about if you have high blood pressure. |
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Study Limitations And Continued Research
The authors noted several limitations in their study. Firstly, the research only included white participants, so it is unclear how much of the data applies to other groups. Additionally, more men participated in the study than women, so results may not be equally applicable for other genders.
Prof. Cheung also offered the following words of caution:
There were findings that were difficult to explain. For example, the pulse rate increased by an average of only one beat per minute on standing in the hyperreactive group. One would expect a higher pulse rate if there is increased epinephrine output.
Also, he continued, people with an exaggerated blood pressure response to standing were surprisingly less likely to be treated with antihypertensive drugs. It seems that further study is required before incorporating the lyingstanding systolic blood pressure as a cardiovascular risk factor.
Dr. Palatini explained to MNT:
Measuring on standing after the patient has been lying on the bed is a very simple and costless maneuver that every doctor should do in office. If the patient has a systolic increase greater than 67 mm Hg, this patient is at high risk of cardiovascular events.
Heart Rate And Exercise
In discussions about high blood pressure, you will often see heart rate mentioned in relation to exercise. Your target heart rate is based on age and can help you monitor the intensity of your exercise.
- If you measure your heart rate before, during and after physical activity, youll notice it will increase over the course of the exercise.
- The greater the intensity of the exercise, the more your heart rate will increase.
- When you stop exercising, your heart rate does not immediately return to your normal heart rate.
- The more fit you are, the sooner your heart rate will return to normal.
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How To Keep Blood Pressure From Dropping When Standing Up
There have been certain times in my life when this has happened and made me question, how do I keep blood pressure from dropping when I stand up? Keep blood pressure from dropping when standing up by following these tips:
- Stay hydrated and drink water throughout the day.
- Dont drink excess alcohol.
- Avoid heat exposure which can cause sweating and dehydration.
- When rising from a sitting or lying position, stand up slower than faster.
If youre dehydrated, this may cause the drop in pressure when standing up 3. Dehydration can decrease blood volume and cause these symptoms. This is why you may have noticed the lightheaded feeling more on hot days.
For other people, the drop in blood pressure when standing up may occur more often. If so, its possible they have a condition called orthostatic hypotension 4.
Low blood pressure while standing up is just one of ten topics discussed in my article, The Low Blood Pressure Range Everything You Need To Know. Find out the causes, symptoms, treatments, when its an emergency and more.
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More Ways To Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally
What if sitting less and doing more exercise isnt enough to lower your blood pressure? Or its lowering it to some extent, but not enough? If thats the case, then you probably need to look at your diet and/or your stress levels too.
Dont stop exercising, because it is undeniably good for your blood pressure, not to mention your general health and mental well-being. But do think about what youre eating and drinking. And if youre prone to stress, then consider taking measures to reduce that. Meditation, yoga, and simple slow breathing exercises can be excellent for this.
This might seem a lot to take on. After all, there are a wide variety of foods and drinks out there so how do you know whats best for your blood pressure? And are you seriously going to be able to reduce your stress levels with some breathing exercises? And how will you make the time for all this?
To make it easier, weve written a guide to lowering your blood pressure through diet, exercise and stress reduction: Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally The Complete 9 Step Guide
As the title suggests, the guide takes a holistic approach to lowering blood pressure. It covers what youre eating and drinking, useful supplements you might want to take, different kinds of exercise you can do, and various approaches to relaxation and stress reduction.
Just click on the picture above for more information and/or to order it.
And all the best with lowering your blood pressure!
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What Causes High Blood Pressure
For most people, there isn’t a single cause of high blood pressure. However there are a number of things that make you more likely to have it. These are called risk factors.
Some risk factors for high blood pressure you can manage, for example when you:
- Smoke or vape with nicotine. When you smoke or vape nicotine your blood pressure goes up. Over time it damages your arteries, increasing your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
- Eat too much processed foods and salt. Many processed foods include a lot of salt. Too much salt makes your body store extra water which raises your blood pressure.
- Drink too much alcohol too often. Drinking alcohol temporarily increases blood pressure. Over time, drinking too much on a regular basis can lead to long-term increases in blood pressure.
- Are overweight. Being overweight increases your risk of having high blood pressure. Even losing just a few kgs can lower your blood pressure.
- Aren’t active enough. Moving more and sitting less will lower your blood pressure.
- Are stressed. The hormones released in your body when youre stressed increase your blood pressure. Researchers are still trying to understand the exact link between long-term high blood pressure and ongoing stress.
Other risk factors include:
Fat Loss For Lowering Blood Pressure
Fat loss alone may not lower your blood pressure. People have lost weight by eating LESS, but the component ratios of their diet remain unchanged.
So instead of three brownies for desert, they have one. Instead of two microwavable dinners-in-a-box at one sitting, they have one.
By cutting portions but not changing the composition of their diet, they will still lose weight via the simple concept of calories in vs. calories out.
And its always great to lose excess body fat. But for some people, more than weight loss is needed to knock down resting and walking blood pressure into the desirable range.
Ditch processed fruits and vegetables for fresh produce such as a freshly prepared cucumber salad.
Mandate two servings of fruit with every breakfast .
Have a green salad every day no matter what.
Give up frozen dinners. Prepare dinners from whole food sources.
Replace soda and milk with water and stevia-sweetened homemade lemonade.
Sweets, processed foods and animal products should be 10 percent or less of your daily diet, recommends Dr. Doyle.
Walking MORE or more intensely may or may not lower blood pressure. But keep on walking because walking is what the body was designed to do. Avoid the sitting disease.
Strength training may lower blood pressure, but if it doesnt, then againtake a good hard look at your eating habits and make the needed changes.
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Blood Pressure Lying Down Vs Standing
Without blood pressure, our body would not receive the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function properly. The heart has two motions contracting and relaxing, so blood pressure is, therefore, recorded as two numbers over each other. Systolic is the actual beat of the heart and diastolic is when the heart relaxes. Systolic pressure is listed over diastolic, such as 120 over 80, which is normal blood pressure.
All sorts of conditions can have an impact on your blood pressure reading. Disease, stress, weight, and even posture can impact your blood pressure level. Blood pressure lying down verses standing has the same variations as lying down vs. sitting. Moving from a standing to a supine position could result in different readings.
Primary High Blood Pressure
While the specific cause of primary high blood pressure remains unknown, there is compelling evidence to suggest that a number of risk factors increase your chances of developing the condition.
These risk factors include:
- age – the risk of developing high blood pressure increases as you get older
- a family history of high blood pressure – the condition seems to run in families
- being of Afro-Caribbean or South Asian origin
- high-fat diet
- high amount of salt in your diet
- lack of exercise
- excessive alcohol consumption
- stress
A number of health conditions, such as diabetes and kidney disease, have also been linked to an increase risk of developing primary high blood pressure.
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Why You Should Pay Attention To Your Blood Pressure
Hypertension can wreak havoc on the body before alarming symptoms appear. Thats why regular checkups are a must.
Sometimes, Dr. Lioudis asks patients to check their blood pressure at different times of the day. Its the only way to spot masked hypertension. People with this condition have normal blood pressure in the doctors office, but high blood pressure at home.
We cant do anything for hypertension unless we know it exists, he says. Thats why we advise everyone to have their pressures checked at least yearly. They should also talk with their family doctor about stress, heart or kidney disease, family history of high blood pressure and any other potential contributing factor. By working together, you can bring your blood pressure under control.
This article originally appeared in Cleveland Clinic Heart Advisor.
Have You Noticed High Blood Pressure While Walking
Though an increase in blood pressure is normal during physical activity when compared to watching TV in your favorite chair, the increase can also be too much.
Blood pressure can increase while exercising, which is a normal response of the body in order to push more blood and oxygen through the vessels, says Stacy Mitchell Doyle, MD, resident physician of FoodTherapyMD and long-time advocate of plant-based nutritional protocols.
Dr. Doyle explains, But some people have an exaggerated blood pressure response , and this is an early clue of deeper problems, specifically, the blood vessels are more stiff and are not relaxing appropriately.
Even if your blood pressure comes down after your activity, youre not in the clear.
Stiff blood vessels is an early sign of heart disease and endothelial dysfunction .
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What To Know About Blood Pressure Changes When You Move From One Position To Another
Your blood pressure can also change as you move from one position to another. This may be particularly noticeable when you move from a sitting or lying position to a standing position.
When you stand, gravity causes blood to pool in your lower body. This can cause a temporary drop in blood pressure. However, your body has a way to adjust to this change.
Certain reflexes in your body send a signal to your brain when a drop in blood pressure is detected. Your brain then tells your heart to beat faster in order to pump more blood. This works to stabilize your blood pressure.
However, sometimes this process can be interrupted, causing the drop in blood pressure to last longer than normal. When this happens, theres a delay in blood flow to your brain. As a result, you may feel lightheaded, dizzy, or faint for a short while after you stand.
This condition is called orthostatic hypotension or postural hypotension. It can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
American Heart Association recommends sitting down to take your blood pressure. They also note that while there are differences in the right arm versus the left arm, these are small and only cause a variation of 10 mm Hg or less.
Additional posture-related factors can also affect your blood pressure readings. To get an accurate reading at your doctors office try to:
There are some instances where you may have your blood pressure taken lying down. An example of this is if youve been hospitalized and cant sit up.
S To Lowering Your Blood Pressure
The first line of treatment for high blood pressure is to make healthy lifestyle changes:
Its also important to take any antihypertensive medications your doctor recommends. There are many different types of medications available to control high blood pressure, so if one drug causes unpleasant side effects, your doctor can help you find a more suitable one.
Even if your doctor also prescribes you medication to help tackle hypertension, controlling your weight, quitting smoking, improving your diet, managing stress, and getting regular exercise are critical for keeping your heart in shape and managing your blood pressure over the long term.
If youve just been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or have suffered a serious health event such as a stroke or heart attack, you may be experiencing a great deal of emotional upheaval. Its important to give yourself time to process the change in your health and be kind to yourself as you adjust to your new situation. But its also important to know there are plenty of things you can do to come to terms with your diagnosis and regain control of your health.
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How To Detect Orthostatic Hypotension
When visiting a physician about your low blood pressure symptoms, the following steps may occur to detect orthostatic hypotension:
- Your blood pressure will be measured while sitting quietly for five minutes.
- You will be asked to stand up, and blood pressure will be measured within one minute and again after three minutes.
- If systolic pressure decreases more than 20 mmHg or diastolic pressure more than 10 mmHg after standing up, it may indicate you have orthostatic hypotension.
- Blood test.
- Stress test.
- Electrocardiogram.
- A tilt table test: This test involves laying on a tilt table raised to an upright position. It simulates the motion of standing up and is used to evaluate how your body reacts to the movement.
Blood Pressure And The Heart
Theres a reason why your blood pressure is taken every time you visit a doctors office or hospital, regardless of the complaint that brought you there. High blood pressure is rightly known as the silent killer. It often carries no symptoms or warning signs but can drastically increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. The higher the number, the harder your heart is having to work to pump blood around your body and the more likely it is that damage is being done to the heart muscle. Since all parts of your body rely on circulation, though, its not just your heart that high blood pressure can impact. If blood doesnt flow easily, it can harm your arteries as well as vital organs such as the kidneys, eyes, and brain.
High blood pressure has been shown to damage the tiny blood vessels in the parts of your brain responsible for cognition and memory, greatly increasing your risk of developing Alzheimers disease or another dementia. Being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease can also take an emotional toll, affecting your outlook and making you more susceptible to anxiety and depression. And just as blood pressure may have an impact your mood, the reverse can also be true:
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