High Blood Pressure and Stress

Stress raises your blood pressure.

In most people stress will cause a rise in blood pressure. If you have intermittent stress (not chronic) the increase in blood pressure only lasts as long as you are stressed. When the stress ends, blood pressure will drop back.

Chronic tress can be long term (chronic) or temporary. It can be high, basically the ancient fight or flight response, or it can be at a lower level. This type of stress can eventually cause blood pressure to stay higher.

Short term stress

We are late for an appointment, and yet another light turned red just as we approached it. We hate going to the dentist. We get nervous about doing something, giving a talk, or going somewhere new. These are all relatively short term stresses that have an endpoint. Once we have left the dentist’s office or given the talk, the stress is gone and we relax.

Chronic stress - some stresses can be more long lasting

These are often situations with a long term problem. Relationship difficulties, money worries, social problems or a bad job situation are common examples of ongoing stressful situations.

Having increased blood pressure over the long term both increases the risk of damage to the heart, kidneys and eyes, increase the risk of stroke (brain attack), and makes it more likely that blood pressure will continue to remain high, even after the source of stress has been eliminated.

- Stressful job? Blood pressure can remain high away from the job -

For those that have a stressful job, or are frequently exposed to stress, studies have found that not only is blood pressure higher while at the stressful job but remains higher outside of work. It is high even while asleep!

Studies indicate that if you have a regularly stressful job or other frequent stressor (i.e. chronic stress) that after a period of chronic stress your blood pressure will remain elevated all the time.

Stress and high blood pressure: solutions

Obviously, getting rid of all the reasons for the stress is the best solution. However, it is usually not possible to remove all the sources of stress from life.

Therefore, it is important that active steps be taken to use techniques to relax and lower blood pressure.

There are a range of relaxation techniques, including meditation, yoga, tai-chi and breathing control such as RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device.

Good solutions for coping with stress do not include heavy drinking of alcohol and binge eating. These do nothing for stress and can increase blood pressure further.

Interested in the body mechanisms? Read about the biological changes that raise blood pressure in response to stress.