{"id":26564,"date":"2021-07-02T23:20:06","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T23:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical.andonline.com\/?p=26564"},"modified":"2023-06-09T08:06:28","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T08:06:28","slug":"how-does-stress-impact-your-blood-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical.andonline.com\/how-does-stress-impact-your-blood-pressure\/?lang=ce","title":{"rendered":"How Does Stress Impact Your Blood Pressure?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How Does Stress Impact Your Blood Pressure?<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/section>\n

Volume I, Issue II<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n

April is\u00a0National Stress Awareness Month<\/a>, an initiative to increase awareness about the causes (and cures) of the modern day stress epidemic. And this is an initiative we seem to sorely need: according to recent studies,\u00a052 percent of us feel stress has a detrimental effect on our health.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

And while the evidence seems clear that too much stress is a bad thing, quantifying stress and its direct impact on aspects of our health \u2013 such as our blood pressure levels \u2013 is something researchers are still working to define.<\/p>\n

What we do know is that when we experience high levels of stress, our blood pressure temporarily goes up (just ask anyone who has had their BP taken at the doctor’s office!).<\/p>\n

So why does your blood pressure go up in stressful situations? Your body produces a surge of hormones when you’re in a stressful situation. These hormones cause the heart to beat faster and blood vessels to narrow.\u00a0 All this means higher blood pressure, at least temporarily, until the stress hormones go back to a normal level.<\/p>\n

And, though there’s no proof (at least at this point) that stress by itself causes long-term high blood pressure, temporary spikes in blood pressure\u2013 if they occur often enough \u2013 can still damage your blood vessels, heart and kidneys in a way that is similar to long-term high blood pressure.<\/p>\n

At A&D Medical, we believe you are \u00a0\u201cMore Than a Measurement\u201d, which means that stress and its relationship to blood pressure \u2013 both directly and indirectly \u2013 are great examples of how routine blood pressure measurements can be so much more than just the reading on the screen.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n

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SIGNS OF STRESS<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/section>\n

As you might have guessed from what you’ve read so far, an increase in your blood pressure levels on a regular basis can be a sign that stress levels in your life may have increased. If you notice this pattern, there are other warning signs our bodies provide in times of stress as an additional gut check. A recent\u00a0article from Web MD<\/a>\u00a0offers the following stress indicators to pay attention to:<\/p>\n