Tuesday, March 26, 2024
HomeFactsCan Pain Cause High Blood Pressure

Can Pain Cause High Blood Pressure

Treat The Pain Save A Heart

Headache Alert: Could your Headache be causing your High Blood Pressure. West New York Chiropractocr

Although severe pain can have profound and negative impacts on the cardiovascular system, this complication has received scant attention. Pain may affect the CV system by multiple mechanisms, and sudden CV death may occur in chronic pain patients who experience a severe pain flare. One of the goals of pain treatment should be to stabilize and bring homeostasis to a pain patients CV system. This is particularly the case with older patients who have either overt or covert cardiovascular disease or who may be at risk of developing it.

When Should You Call A Doctor For High Blood Pressure

Many symptoms present gradually after years of poorly blood pressure control. Often, the first knowledge of hypertension occurs when a person complains of chest pain or has stroke-like symptoms. Should these occur, it is appropriate to call 911 immediately to activate emergency medical services and seek care.

You may be directed to seek medical care if blood pressure readings are elevated if done as part of a community health screening. Isolated elevated blood pressure readings do not necessarily make the diagnosis of hypertension. Blood pressure readings vary throughout the day, and your primary care provider may record a different reading than the one that was measured in a screening that sent you in for care.

There are non-specific symptoms associated with hypertension that may cause a person to seek care that includes

  • lightheadedness,

There are many other reasons to develop these symptoms other than high blood pressure.

Chronic Pain And Hypertension

The link between chronic pain and high blood pressure is not as obvious as in acute pain. Several studies suggest that having chronic pain increases your risk of developing long-term hypertension. The most probable cause is that chronic pain wears out your endogenous opioid receptors. Just like acute pain, chronic pain will trigger the endogenous opioid response, but over time, as the pain continues, you run out of opioids. This has the effect of increasing your sensitivity to pain. The long-lasting pain causes hypertension.

Recommended Reading: Does Claritin D Raise Blood Pressure

Stroke And Brain Problems

High blood pressure can cause the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain to burst or be blocked, causing a stroke. Brain cells die during a stroke because they do not get enough oxygen. Stroke can cause serious disabilities in speech, movement, and other basic activities. A stroke can also kill you.

Having high blood pressure, especially in midlife, is linked to having poorer cognitive function and dementia later in life. Learn more about the link between high blood pressure and dementia from the National Institutes of Healths Mind Your Risks®external icon campaign.

You May Like: What Is A Dangerously High Blood Pressure

The Cold Pressor Test

PPT

The cold pressor test 11, like the one above, is very effective when evaluating how pain and stress affect the human body. What is the cold pressor test?

The cold pressor test is used clinically to evaluate cardiovascular functions during pain and stress. A participants hand is immersed into cold water for a period of time. Changes in blood pressure and heart rate are recorded prior to, during and after the immersion.

In another cold pressor study, students performed the test and used water measured and maintained at 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit . While the participants hands were immersed in the cold water, blood pressure increased from approximately 120/77 to 138/86 mmHg 12.

Studies have shown people who have a lower tolerance to pain show a greater increase in blood pressure than people with a higher tolerance. Even though, blood pressure increased in both groups 13.

Also Check: Blood Pressure Changes During Exercise

How Is Blood Pressure Measured

Blood pressure is defined as the amount of pressure that is exerted on the artery walls as blood moves through them. It is measured in millimetres of mercury, or mmHg.

A more detailed explanation is provided below.

Two measurements are used to measure blood pressure:

  • Systolic pressure – the measure of blood pressure exerted when your heart beats and forces blood around your body.
  • Diastolic pressure – the measure of blood pressure when your heart is resting in between beats.

Both the systolic and diastolic pressures are measured in millimetres of mercury .

The figures are usually represented with the systolic pressure first, followed by the diastolic pressure. Therefore, if your GP says that your blood pressure is ‘120 over 80’, or 120/80mmHg, they mean that you have a systolic pressure of 120mmHg and a diastolic pressure of 80mmHg.

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.

More about drinking alcohol reponsibly

Don’t Miss: High Blood Pressure Mayo

Good Sleep Can Prevent And Manage High Blood Pressure

Most people experience a dip in blood pressure during the deepest stage of sleep , which is the body’s normal and healthy reaction to sleep. Not having that nighttime dip is a risk factor for heart disease and may increase daytime blood pressure.

Typically people spend 90 minutes to two hours in slow wave sleep per night. A recent study published in Hypertension found that men who got less slow wave sleep each night were a higher risk for hypertension than men who got more deep sleep.

While sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, and age can both affect the amount of deep sleep you get, there are steps you can take to ensure a good night’s sleep. Getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule and being more active during the day can help improve the quality of your sleep.

Acute Pain And High Blood Pressure

Your Posture May Affect Your Blood Pressure And Cause Fatigue, Back and Neck Pain

Sudden pain acts as a warning or alarm for your body. It tells you that something is wrong and your body goes into its fight or flight response. Your sympathetic nervous system goes into high drive and releases chemicals that cause your heart to beat faster and your arteries to constrict. You also have a release of the stress hormone cortisone. All of these reactions cause your blood pressure to go up suddenly.

However, acute pain does not cause hypertension. Once the pain goes away, your blood pressure goes back to normal. Even if acute pain lasts longer, say for days or weeks, your brain will adjust by releasing your bodys natural pain relievers called endogenous opioids. These natural opioids decrease your sensitivity to pain and that lowers your blood pressure.

You May Like: Claritin And High Blood Pressure Medications

Other Options For Pain Relief

Of course, painkillers aren’t the only answer for many of life’s aches and pains. Many effective and safe alternatives don’t have any side effects at all.

  • Ice packs, for acute injuries like a sprained ankle, can keep down swelling and ease pain.
  • Heat — with a hot towel or heating pad — can be helpful for treating chronic overuse injuries.
  • Physical activity can help reduce some kinds of discomfort, such as arthritis pain.
  • Relaxation — with techniques like yoga or meditation — may reduce pain. Biofeedback may help as well. These approaches are best for pain that’s amplified by stress, like tension headaches.
  • Nontraditional techniques with low risks — like acupuncture — benefit some people.

So remember: Pain relief doesn’t only come from a pill bottle.

What Causes Blood Pressure To Spike Suddenly

There are many obvious causes like caffeine, exercise, or stress. Another common cause that is less obvious is medication. Medications that cause your blood pressure to go up include:

  • Over-the-counter pain relievers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , including popular brands like aspirin, Advil, Aleve, and Motrin
  • Some antidepressants

Don’t Miss: Claritin Raise Blood Pressure

How Do Pain Relief Drugs Work

In a certain way, all pain is in your head. When we feel pain, it’s the result of an electrical signal being sent from the nerves in a part of your body to your brain.

But the whole process isn’t electrical. When tissue is injured , the cells release certain chemicals in response. These chemicals cause inflammation and amplify the electrical signal coming from the nerves. As a result, they increase the pain you feel.

Painkillers work by blocking the effects of these pain chemicals. The problem is that you can’t focus most pain relievers specifically on your headache or bad back. Instead, it travels through your whole body. This can cause some unexpected side effects.

How Is High Blood Pressure Diagnosed

High Blood Pressure Treatment

Your blood pressure varies from day to day, even from moment to moment. Generally, if a person has a blood pressure reading taken on 3 separate occasions that is greater than 140/90 mmHg, they have high blood pressure. Your doctor may ask you to monitor your blood pressure at home, or wear a monitor over a 24-hour period, to see how it varies and to make sure they get an accurate reading.

Read Also: Can You Take Claritin With High Blood Pressure Medicine

What Are The Risks For People With High Blood Pressure

For people with high blood pressure, some types of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be risky. They include ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, and ketoprofen, the active ingredients in medicines like Advil and Aleve.

Other pain relievers may be less dangerous. Aspirin is also an NSAID, but experts think that it’s safer for people with hypertension. Acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — is a different type of painkiller that doesn’t raise blood pressure as a side effect. However, like any drug, it does have side effects of its own. You shouldn’t take any over-the-counter painkiller for more than 10 days without your health care provider’s approval.

Why are people with high blood pressure at special risk? Some of these NSAIDs reduce the blood flow to the kidneys. The kidneys — which filter your blood — work more slowly, and so fluid builds up in your body. The increased fluid drives up your blood pressure.

“When I have patients with heart disease that suddenly gets much worse,” Goldberg tells WebMD, “the first thing I ask them is if they’ve used an over-the-counter pain medicine.”

These drugs have additional risks. If you take them often enough and at a high enough dose, they can seriously damage the kidneys.

So, what’s a person with high blood pressure and a headache to do? In general, people with high blood pressure should use acetaminophen or possibly aspirin for over-the-counter pain relief.

Symptoms Of Back Pain

Here are a few sensations and symptoms of back pain.

Shooting pain that moves up and down the spine

Pain that radiates towards the legs

Pain when trying to stand up straight

Aches in the lower back

Lack of flexibility in and around the back

Although back pain requires you to seek medical attention, posture and daily movement-related symptoms of back pain are usually short-lived. Moreover, it is essential to know that high blood pressure also causes aches in parts of the body where the blood vessels narrow.

Dont Miss: High Blood Pressure Mayo

Recommended Reading: Does Claritin Lower Blood Pressure

Negative Effects Of Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one out of every three American adults have high blood pressure, or hypertension. Because high blood pressure is so common, it might be tempting to assume that its no big deal. But the truth is, that when left untreated, high blood pressure can put you at risk for potentially life-threatening complications.

Here are eight ways that uncontrolled high blood pressure can negatively affect your health:

  • It raises your risk of heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure damages the walls of your arteries. This makes them more likely to develop deposits of plaque that harden, narrow or block your arteries. These deposits also can lead to blood clots. Blood clots can flow through your bloodstream and block blood flow to your heart or brain, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.
  • It makes you more likely to develop heart failure. When your arteries are hardened or narrowed, your heart has to work harder to circulate your blood. This increased workload can cause your heart to become larger and fail to supply your organs with blood.
  • You may experience chest pain. Chest pain, also called angina, occurs when the heart does not get the blood it needs. When people with high blood pressure perform activities such as walking uphill, going up steps, or exercising, angina can cause pressure, squeezing, pain, or a feeling of fullness in the chest.
  • Blurry vision or other vision problems
  • Dizziness
  • Chest discomfort or pain
  • Does Chronic Pain Lead To High Blood Pressure

    Is your neck causing your High Blood Pressure?!

    Chronic pain is different from occasional aches and pains in many ways, including the fact it may also have an impact on other aspects of your health. Growing evidence suggests ongoing pain may elevate blood pressure by consistently stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the bodys involuntary responses. Board-certified physicians in Los Angeles discuss the connections between chronic pain and high blood pressure.

    You May Like: What Causes Your Blood Pressure To Be High

    About High Blood Pressure

    High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is usually defined as having a sustained blood pressure of 140/90mmHg or above.

    The line between normal and raised blood pressure is not fixed and depends on your individual circumstances. However, most doctors agree that the ideal blood pressure for a physically healthy person is around 120/80mmHg.

    A normal blood pressure reading is classed as less than 130/80mmHg.

    Why The Upper Neck

    Why does the alignment of the C-1 vertebrae have an effect on blood pressure? Because of its location at the brain stem, the C-1 only has to move about half a millimeter to start pinching the base of the brain. While this is not enough to cause pain in the area of the misalignment, it can certainly cause many other problems throughout the body. In fact, a misalignment of the C-1 can cause the spine to be twisted, one hip to be higher than the other, one leg to be shorter, and many other health challenges including hypertension.

    How may such a misalignment have occurred? For some, an upper neck injury may have occurred at birth. Others experience an accident such as a car accident or a sports injury. Regardless of the cause of the upper neck injury, upper cervical chiropractic care is the best way to realign the vertebrae. It may thus reverse some of the symptoms related to the injury.

    Recommended Reading: Does Claritin D Raise Blood Pressure

    High Blood Pressure Symptoms

    If you are struggling with chronic back pain and believe it is affecting your cardiovascular health and causing high blood pressure, then it is essential that you recognize hypertensions signs and symptoms. Unfortunately, high blood pressure isnt always accompanied by symptoms. However, some signs to look out for include:

    • Chest pain

    When To See A Doctor

    Can Arthritis Pain Cause High Blood Pressure Treatment ...

    Although high blood pressure does not usually cause symptoms, anyone experiencing a sudden, severe headache or nosebleed should check their blood pressure.

    If their blood pressure is above 180/120 mm Hg, they should stay rested for 5 minutes and recheck their blood pressure. If the blood pressure is still higher than 180/120 mm Hg, they need to seek medical help at their doctors office.

    If a person is experiencing severe symptoms, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, or visual difficulty, they need to call 911 for emergency medical treatment as they may be experiencing a hypertensive crisis.

    Medications to reduce blood pressure can cause side effects such as dizziness. If this side effect does not go away or affects a persons daily activities, they should speak with their family doctor.

    Also Check: Does Claritin D Cause High Blood Pressure

    The Link Between High Blood Pressure And Inflammation

    The evidence reviewed with the help of past research studies has suggested that inflammation can even lead to hypertension development.

    Both the endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress also have an involvement in the inflammatory cascade.

    Both ageing and aldosterone even have a relationship in both hypertension and inflammation.

    Therefore, when there would not be serious side effects, anti-inflammatory drugs could play a vital role in the treatment of hypertension in the future. Secondly, adopting healthy lifestyle choices is even indeed the best technique in lowering the risk factor.

    Though, doctors can also advise a statin drug for those people who have a high risk of suffering from heart disease. The doctor can even determine the risk level and even the next steps that are most valuable for you.

    It is still not clear whether inflammation is a significant effect resulting from hypertension. Though, there is some evidence related to the studies carried out on humans and animals that inflammations can lead to the development of hyperinflation.

    Both the endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress have an association with inflammation and can have a contribution to hypertension. It can inevitably exacerbate the inflammatory response.

    There are some other factors which even have a contribution towards hypertension such as ageing, aldosterone and

    sympathetic nervous system activation. They have an association with inflammation.

    Treating High Blood Pressure

    Treatment for high blood pressure will depend on your blood pressure levels and your associated risk of developing a cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke.

    There are seven main risk factors for developing a cardiovascular disease. These are:

    • age
    • having a high level of cholesterol in your blood
    • having a family history of cardiovascular disease .

    Don’t Miss: What Is A Dangerously High Blood Pressure

    RELATED ARTICLES

    Popular Articles