Can Stress Cause High Blood Pressure?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsThe Connection Between Stress and High Blood PressureComplicationsDiagnosisTreatmentCopingSummary

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

The Connection Between Stress and High Blood Pressure

Complications

Diagnosis

Treatment

Coping

Summary

Close

When you are stressed, your body responds in a couple of ways. Your heart rate and pulse quicken, your muscles tighten, and your blood pressure also rises. Being in a constant state of stress has been linked to the development ofhigh blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension.

High blood pressure is a condition that increases your risk of developing heart conditions. If left undiagnosed, it can be fatal. In this article, learn how exactly stress and high blood pressure are connected and how stress can trigger the development of high blood pressure.

It’s established that your blood pressure may rise when you are in a stressful situation. When stressed, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. The sudden surge of these hormones triggers a phenomenon known as a“fight or flight” response.

When your body is in this state, your heart rate quickens, your blood levels constrict, and your blood pressure levels rise. However, stress doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll continue living with elevated blood pressure. These symptoms dissipate once the stressor is eliminated and your blood pressure levels return to normal. There are two forms of stress: acute and chronic stress.

Acute Stress

Chronic Stress

Chronic stress, on the other hand, is more long-term than acute stress. With chronic stress, you are in a state of stress for a prolonged period. For instance, if you work in a demanding job that causes stress, you might feel stressed for as long as you are in that job. While researchers are a little unclear on thelink between chronic stress and high blood pressure, chronic stress has been identified as one of the most likely culprits causing the development of high blood pressure.

One theory is that stress causes you to develop unhealthy habits that can lead to medical complications such as high blood pressure. When you are stressed, you are more likely to experience sleeping difficulties. You are also more likely to pick up unhealthy habits to help cope with stress, such as smoking, binge eating, ordrinking alcohol excessively. These have been shown to heighten your risk of high blood pressure significantly. In a 2019 study on the link between long-term stress and hypertension, researchers found that over time stress increased the risk of developing high blood pressure.

Complications of Stress and High Blood Pressure

The main goal in managing high blood pressure is keeping your blood pressure levels within a normal range, and prolonged stress prevents that from happening. Research shows that stress can lead to further medical complications for people with high blood pressure. If left untreated or in a situation where your high blood pressure symptoms worsen, it can lead to complications such as kidney disease, stroke, and heart disease.

Diagnosis of Stress and High Blood Pressure

In many cases, chronic stress begins as acute stress. In such cases, you might not immediately notice that you are stressed.Stress may manifest in physical symptomssuch as headaches, dizziness, chest pain, and trouble sleeping.Your healthcare provider can diagnose high blood pressure. A blood pressure cuff will be used to measure your blood pressure levels; if you have consistent high readings over two or more appointments, you might be diagnosed with high blood pressure. Normal blood pressure levels should be less than 120/80mm Hg for adults.

Treatment of Stress and High Blood Pressure

Treatment for high blood pressure comprises a combination of medication and lifestyle changes. While stress doesn’t need to be treated with medication, adopting healthy lifestyle changes will help you keep it in check. In specific scenarios, people with high blood pressure and experiencing severe stress might be prescribed beta-blockers. Beta-blockers are used to alleviate symptoms of stress.

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Coping With Stress and High Blood Pressure

If you have high blood pressure, making the above lifestyle changes is also essential to helping you manage your condition.

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While stress might not directly cause high blood pressure, there’s sufficient evidence to show that it affects its development. Furthermore, people living with high blood pressure experience worsening symptoms when exposed to a stressful situation for prolonged periods.

A Word From Verywell

8 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harvard Health.Understanding the stress response.National Library of Medicine.Stress and your health.May 10, 2020Spruill TM, Butler MJ, Thomas SJ, et al.Association between high perceived stress over time and incident hypertension in black adults: findings from the jackson heart study.JAHA. 2019;8(21):e012139.UPMC. 8 negative effects of uncontrolled high blood pressure.Cleveland Clinic.Stress: signs, symptoms, management & prevention. January 28, 2021National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.High Blood Pressure.March 24, 2022National Library of Medicine.High blood pressure medications.July 17, 2021Hegde SM, Solomon SD.Influence of physical activity on hypertension and cardiac structure and function.Curr Hypertens Rep. 2015;17(10):77.

8 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harvard Health.Understanding the stress response.National Library of Medicine.Stress and your health.May 10, 2020Spruill TM, Butler MJ, Thomas SJ, et al.Association between high perceived stress over time and incident hypertension in black adults: findings from the jackson heart study.JAHA. 2019;8(21):e012139.UPMC. 8 negative effects of uncontrolled high blood pressure.Cleveland Clinic.Stress: signs, symptoms, management & prevention. January 28, 2021National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.High Blood Pressure.March 24, 2022National Library of Medicine.High blood pressure medications.July 17, 2021Hegde SM, Solomon SD.Influence of physical activity on hypertension and cardiac structure and function.Curr Hypertens Rep. 2015;17(10):77.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Harvard Health.Understanding the stress response.National Library of Medicine.Stress and your health.May 10, 2020Spruill TM, Butler MJ, Thomas SJ, et al.Association between high perceived stress over time and incident hypertension in black adults: findings from the jackson heart study.JAHA. 2019;8(21):e012139.UPMC. 8 negative effects of uncontrolled high blood pressure.Cleveland Clinic.Stress: signs, symptoms, management & prevention. January 28, 2021National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.High Blood Pressure.March 24, 2022National Library of Medicine.High blood pressure medications.July 17, 2021Hegde SM, Solomon SD.Influence of physical activity on hypertension and cardiac structure and function.Curr Hypertens Rep. 2015;17(10):77.

Harvard Health.Understanding the stress response.

National Library of Medicine.Stress and your health.May 10, 2020

Spruill TM, Butler MJ, Thomas SJ, et al.Association between high perceived stress over time and incident hypertension in black adults: findings from the jackson heart study.JAHA. 2019;8(21):e012139.

UPMC. 8 negative effects of uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Cleveland Clinic.Stress: signs, symptoms, management & prevention. January 28, 2021

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.High Blood Pressure.March 24, 2022

National Library of Medicine.High blood pressure medications.July 17, 2021

Hegde SM, Solomon SD.Influence of physical activity on hypertension and cardiac structure and function.Curr Hypertens Rep. 2015;17(10):77.

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