Sally Anscombe/DigitalVision/Getty
What happens to our blood pressure if we are constantly stressed?
Research has shown that chronic stress can negatively affect your overall health and possibly contribute to high blood pressure.
What Is Blood Pressure?
Sally Anscombe/DigitalVision/Getty
Blood pressure is measured with two numbers.
Systolic blood pressure measures the amount of pressure in your arteries when your heart contracts and pumps blood out.
Diaslotic blood pressure measures the amount of pressure in your arteries when your heart rests and fills will blood.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a significant health issue amongst adults.
Hypertension can affect anyone.
There are many different factors that can increase a persons risk.
That is why it is sometimes referred to as the Silent Killer.
Hypertension was listed as a primary or contributing cause for more than 670,000 deaths in the US in 2020.
This causes our heart rate to increase and blood vessels to constrict as we react to the stressor.
Our blood pressure will rise because our heart is pumping faster and our arteries are narrower.
There isnt conclusive proof that chronic stress directly causes long-term high blood pressure.
However, a 2021 study showed preliminary results that linked urinary stress hormones, hypertension and cardiovascular events.
However, if stress isnt managed appropriately, it can indirectly cause hypertension.
Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.Facts About Hypertension
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
