Learning To Cope With Stress Can Help
Stress and hypertension have often been linked, but researchers are still looking into a direct relationship between the two. Still, the best advice to hypertensive patients: Try to relax.
When you are stressed, your body sends stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream. These hormones create a temporary spike in blood pressure, causing your heart to beat faster and blood vessels to narrow. When the stressful situation is over, blood pressure goes back to its normal level.
Chronic stress, however, may cause your body to stay in this highly-charged state longer than natural.
While stress itself may or may not affect blood pressure, how you cope with stress does. For instance, overeating, smoking and drinking alcohol in response to stressful situations are direct causes of sustained high blood pressure. On the flip side, healthier coping mechanisms like exercising, practicing yoga and meditating can all help lower blood pressure.
What Can Cause Blood Pressure To Go Up Or Down
It’s normal for blood pressure to go up and down throughout the day. Things like exercise, stress, and sleeping can affect your blood pressure. Some medicines can cause your blood pressure to go up. These medicines include certain asthma medicines and cold remedies.
A low blood pressure reading can be caused by many things, including some medicines, a severe allergic reaction, or an infection. Another cause is dehydration, which is when your body loses too much fluid.
Drink Alcohol In Moderation
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol will increase your blood pressure and raise the cholesterol levels in your blood.
Sticking to the recommended amounts of alcohol consumption is the best way to reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure.
The recommended daily limits of alcohol consumption are:
- 3 to 4 units of alcohol for men
- 2 to 3 units of alcohol for women.
A unit of alcohol is equal to about half a pint of normal-strength lager, a small glass of wine or a pub measure or spirits.
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Do I Have High Blood Pressure
Anyone can have high blood pressure. Some medical conditions, such as metabolic syndrome, kidney disease, and thyroid problems, can cause high blood pressure. Some people have a greater chance of having it because of things they can’t change. These include:
- Age. The chance of having high blood pressure increases as you get older, especially isolated systolic hypertension.
- Gender. Before age 55, men have a greater chance of having high blood pressure. Women are more likely to have high blood pressure after menopause.
- Family history. High blood pressure runs in some families.
- Race. African Americans are at increased risk for high blood pressure.
High blood pressure often has no signs or symptoms, but routine checks of your blood pressure will help detect increasing levels. If your blood pressure reading is high at two or more check-ups, the doctor may also ask you to measure your blood pressure at home.
There are important considerations for older adults in deciding whether to start treatment for high blood pressure, including other health conditions and overall fitness. Your doctor will work with you to find a blood pressure target that is best for your well-being and may suggest exercise, changes in your diet, and medications.
Why Is My Blood Pressure Going Up And Down
My recent blood pressure readings have confused me. The first, taken with an electric monitor, was 177/90 apparently rather high.
A few days later it was 177/94, and was also taken with an electric monitor. However, when measured with a manual monitor it was 136/70.
My GP surgery preferred this last one and said I had nothing to worry about. Which reading is likely to be correct?
This is a puzzling subject for many patients, not least because blood pressure readings do vary in any one person from hour to hour and day to day.
However, as Im sure you realise, correct measurement is essential, as high blood pressure must never go undiagnosed.
Officially known as hypertension, it causes readings consistently above 140/90, and has a number of bad consequences for future health. Not only is it harmful for the heart, but it raises the risk of stroke, and damages the kidneys and eyes, too.
When your blood pressure is tested, the reading produces two numbers.
The first represents the pressure in your blood vessels when your heart contracts. Each contraction sends out around a teacupful of blood the pressure forces it throughout the body to move along the blood vessels.
At this point your blood pressure is at its highest, known as systolic pressure.
When the heart relaxes and is refilling, preparing for the next contraction, the pressure drops back. This lower reading is your diastolic pressure.
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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 amount of salt in your diet
- lack of exercise
- excessive alcohol consumption
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.
Causes Of High Blood Pressure
Theres no single cause of high blood pressure, but rather many contributing factors. Some are out of your control, such as age, race, gender, and family historyblood pressure tends to increase over the age of 70, affects more women than men over the age of 55, and is more common in African Americans than Caucasians, perhaps due to a genetic sensitivity to salt.
Many other risk factors for hypertension are within your control. Being overweight, eating a poor diet high in salt, smoking, drinking excessively, and not getting enough physical exercise can all impact your blood pressure.
There are also specific substances that can raise your blood pressure, such as:
- Caffeine, including coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks.
- Prescription medications, including some of those used to treat ADHD, birth control pills, corticosteroids, atypical antipsychotics, MAOIs and SNRIs used to treat depression, and some cancer drugs.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as aspirin and ibuprofen .
- Cough and cold medications containing decongestant or NSAIDs.
- Herbal supplements, such as ephedra and yohimbine.
- Recreational drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine.
- Licorice found in some candies and gum.
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What Causes Suddenly High Blood Pressure
If you measure your blood pressure and see elevated numbers, don’t panic. There are a lot of causes for sudden spikes in blood pressure. This includes thyroid issues, scleroderma, collagen vascular disorder, and even overactive adrenal glands. Other causes that lead to normal physiological changes lead to blood pressure spikes. These include:
Significant Increase In Risk Of Heart Attack Or Stroke
The 10 percent of participants with the biggest spike in blood pressure upon standing were almost twice as likely to experience events like heart attacks and strokes by the end of the study, according to the study, published March 17 in Hypertension. These people had average systolic blood pressure increases of 11.4 mmHg upon standing, and all of them experienced increases greater than 6.5 mmHg.
Among all the others in the study, systolic blood pressure dipped by an average of 3.8 mmHg when they stood up.
Interestingly, the people with the biggest blood pressure increases upon standing had similar cardiovascular risk profiles to others in the study in many ways they had similar activity levels, similar weight profiles, and similar family histories when it came to cardiovascular events.
People with the biggest standing blood pressure spikes were, however, more likely to smoke. On the other side of the ledger, they tended to have lower total cholesterol levels as well as lower levels of bad LDL cholesterol.
One limitation of the study is that it included only white people and most of the participants were male. Results might be different for women or for people from other racial or ethnic groups.
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What Causes Labile Hypertension
When labile hypertension is suspected, a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor may be used to confirm the diagnosis. Then the work of pinpointing the underlying cause begins. Serious detective work often is required. We look at the patients overall health, lifestyle and medications, says Dr. Lioudis.
When a medication or lifestyle choice is the precipitating factor, making appropriate changes can cause labile hypertension to disappear.
Underlying medical conditions are a bigger concern, since they may be harder to treat.
We look for sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease or a problem with the adrenal glands, as any of these can cause blood pressure to fluctuate,says Dr. Lioudis.
Most People With Hypertension Feel Okay
Hypertension usually does not produce any symptoms, because the organs of the body can resist high blood pressure for a long time. Thats why its important to have regular medical examinations to make sure your blood pressure isnt creeping up as you grow older.High blood pressure over a period of time can contribute to many illnesses, including:
The effects of high blood pressure on the arteries are worsened by:
- cigarette smoking
- high levels of saturated fat in the diet
- high blood cholesterol
Responses to some types of stress may affect both blood pressure and changes in the arteries, but this remains scientifically uncertain.
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Diagnosing High Blood Pressure
The only way to find out whether you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked regularly. Ask your GP when you are next due for yours to be checked.
Before having your blood pressure taken, you should rest for at least five minutes and empty your bladder. To get an accurate blood pressure reading, you should be sitting down and not talking when the reading is taken.
Having one high blood pressure reading does not necessarily mean that you have high blood pressure. Your blood pressure can change throughout the day. Feeling anxious or stressed when you visit your GP can raise your blood pressure .
Therefore, your GP will need to take several readings over a set period of time, usually every month, to see whether your blood pressure level is consistently high.
Blood and urine tests may also be carried out in order to check for conditions that are known to cause an increase in blood pressure, such as kidney infections.
You may also be given a blood pressure device to take home so that you can record your blood pressure level throughout the day. This also helps to identify white coat syndrome and therefore helps to identify the best treatment options for you.
Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
Some people buy their own blood pressure monitor to use at home. This means you can measure your blood pressure on an ongoing basis.
The blood pressure readings you do at home are as good as those done by your doctor.
If you decide to buy one, it’s important to get the correct cuff size. If the cuff is too big or too small, it can give an inaccurate reading.
If you take your own blood pressure and get an unusually high reading, take it a second time after at least five minutes. If it’s still high and you’re worried, contact your nurse or GP.
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Regular Blood Pressure Checks If Diagnosed With High Blood Pressure
If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, your blood pressure will need to be closely monitored until it is brought under control.
After your blood pressure has been controlled, your GP or practice nurse will measure your blood pressure at agreed regular intervals .
It is important you attend these appointments to ensure your blood pressure is being maintained within an acceptable range.
How Is High Blood Pressure Diagnosed
A single reading showing high blood pressure doesnt mean that you have hypertension. Sometimes, blood pressure needs to be checked several times over a period of days or weeks to know if someone has hypertension. Your doctor will probably weigh and measure you. He or she might do urine tests or blood tests to check for other conditions that can cause hypertension.
Some people have whats called white coat hypertension. This means that their blood pressure goes up when theyre at a doctors office because theyre nervous. When they feel more relaxed, their blood pressure usually goes down. To make sure high blood pressure readings arent caused by anxiety, doctors will sometimes track a persons blood pressure over a whole day. This is called ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.
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Research Shows The Benefits Of Controlling High Blood Pressure
Preventing and controlling high blood pressure is important for your heart health and may benefit your brain health as well. An NIH-funded study called the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial found that lowering systolic blood pressure to less than 120 in adults age 50 and older significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Results from a related study showed that lowering systolic blood pressure to less than 120 reduced the risk of mild cognitive impairment, and an analysis of several large, long-term studies of adults over age 55 found that treating high blood pressure was associated with a reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimers disease.
Low Blood Pressure When You Stand Up
Sometimes, changes in your posture can cause your blood pressure to drop, for example, going from sitting or lying down to standing up. You might feel the symptoms listed above when you stand up, such as feeling dizzy or faint. They will pass quickly as your body adjusts, but can put you at risk of falls.
This is called postural hypotension or orthostatic hypotension. Its caused by changes to your arteries which happen as you get older and if youre taking medications to lower your blood pressure.
The animation below provides information on the causes, symptoms and potential interventions related to orthostatic hypotension.
This film was produced by Newcastle University for work completed by Dr James Frith, supported by the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre.
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Blood Pressure Up And Down
Waffalobill
53 year old. Had slightly high blood pressure. Take low dose Lisinopril. Past week or so blood pressure is jumping up and down for no apparent reason. Has been as high as 165/106. Then goes back down to 120/80. Primary thinks it will settle down. Not sure she’s right. Had a knee doc appointment last week. They made me stick around til it went down. It stayed at 155/106 for 2 hours.
0 likes, 7 replies
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Posted 5 years ago
the tempirary spike maybe due to anxiety…. dont worry about the number if your normal goes back down to 120.80
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Posted 5 years ago
The problem is the knee doc app is to get injections. If my diastolic is over 100, they won’t do it. They are
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Posted 5 years ago
They are afraid I will stroke out. A app that should have taken 10 minutes turned into 2 hours. Lol. Came home relaxed for a while. BP was 118/75. Went to a docs office for a exam for insurance. BP was 150/100. Never had this problem. The injections are nothing to me . Been getting them for 12 years or more. Had it done like 70 times.
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Posted 5 years ago
Sounds to me like white coat syndrome, mine can be fine then go erratic, daft question are you well hydrated
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Posted 5 years ago
Was told I had white coat long time ago. But haven’t had a problem in a long time. Never had a diastolic in the hundreds. Have had labs and ekg a few times in the past months. Surgeries in June and November. Nurse took my bp atleast 20 times which I think made it worse.
Thanks for your help!
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:
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How Is High Blood Pressure Treated
If high blood pressure is due to a condition like kidney disease or lung disease, treating it might be enough to get the blood pressure back to normal.
Doctors also might recommend lifestyle changes. If you have hypertension, your doctor might want you to:
Eat a healthy diet:
Get regular exercise:
- Try to exercise for 3060 minutes at least 3 times a week. But teens with severe hypertension should not do any weightlifting or power-lifting, bodybuilding, or strength training until their blood pressure is under control and a doctor says its OK.
Not smoke. Or if you do smoke, quit:
- People with high blood pressure should not smoke, and their home and car should be smoke-free.
If diet and exercise changes do not improve the blood pressure, doctors may prescribe medicine.