Can Stress Cause High Blood Pressure?

Stressful circumstances may cause our blood pressure to rise temporarily; however, can stress also lead to long run high blood pressure is the question. Can those series of short term stress pose blood pressures to rise and lead to long term high blood pressure? Researchers are not certain.

However, a 30 minutes exercise 3-5 times every week along with meditation can reduce our level of stress. For individuals diagnosed to have high blood pressure, taking up activities that help them manage their stress and improvise health shall make a difference in the long run and lower blood pressure.

Challenging to link stress with blood pressure 

During our stressful situation our bodies produce a flow of hormones. They temporarily raise our blood pressure by making our hearts beat faster and our narrowing our blood vessels.

It is not clearly evident yet that stress along can lead to long run high blood pressure. However, it appears that factor linked with stress i.e. overeating, consuming alcohol, poor sleeping habits and smoking can lead to high blood pressure. However, the added up short term stress posed blood pressures may put us at risk of suffering from long run high blood pressure.

There is also a possibility that health conditions relevant to stress i.e. depression, anxiety and isolation from family and friends may have links with heart diseases, however, there is no proof that they are linked with high blood pressure. Also it may be so that hormones produced when we are emotionally stressed can damage our arteries, thus causing heart diseases. It is also a possibility that depression can lead to self-destructive behavior i.e. neglecting the consumption of medicines for controlling high blood pressure or any other heart condition.

Rise in blood pressure relevant to stress may be dramatic, however, once a stressor disappears, our blood pressure is restored to normal. But temporary rise in blood pressure (if they occur very often), may damage our blood vessels, hearts and also kidneys in a similar way to long run high blood pressure. Additionally if we respond to stress by drinking much alcohol, smoking, unhealthy food intake, we raise our risk of developing high, stroke and heart attack.