{"id":24342,"date":"2023-02-06T08:49:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T16:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=24342"},"modified":"2025-04-21T14:04:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T21:04:39","slug":"manage-stress-to-lower-your-blood-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/manage-stress-to-lower-your-blood-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Steps to Manage Your Stress &amp; Lower Blood Pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>Take Steps to Manage Your Stress &amp; Lower Blood Pressure<\/h1>\t\t<time>February 6, 2023<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_d30ecccc73f1c01134060109d64cde94\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>Stress is a normal part of life. Relationships, finances, work, illness, and family stressors, to name a few, can become overwhelming, and over time, take a toll on our health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One way stress impacts health is that it can cause spikes in blood pressure, and chronic stress can contribute to high blood pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>High blood pressure or hypertension is known as \u201cthe silent killer\u201d because there typically aren\u2019t any warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it. This is alarming considering nearly half of all adults in the United States have high blood pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you are stressed, your heart rate increases, a surge of cortisol and adrenaline is released, and your blood vessels narrow leading to an elevated blood pressure,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/patients-visitors\/find-a-doctor\/didier-alanna-1932669447\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alanna Didier, DO<\/a>, with <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/find-a-location\/samaritan-family-medicine-geary-st\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Samaritan Family Medicine<\/a>. \u201cWhile your blood pressure may return to normal once your stress goes away, we don\u2019t know the exact long-term effects of these temporary spikes in blood pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Left untreated, high blood pressure can put you at risk for other health problems, such as&nbsp;heart disease,&nbsp;heart attack,&nbsp;stroke, and kidney disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-know-your-numbers\">Know Your Numbers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting your blood pressure checked regularly and understanding what your numbers mean is important to managing your health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each time your heart beats, it pushes blood into your arteries, creating pressure. This is your blood pressure and is measured using two numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSystolic blood pressure is the first number in a blood pressure reading and it measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats,\u201d said Didier. \u201c<em>Diastolic<\/em><em>&nbsp;<\/em>blood pressure is the second number and measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-blood-pressure-guidance\">Blood Pressure Guidance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-color\"><table><thead><tr><th><span style=\"color: #262626\">Blood Pressure Levels<\/span>&nbsp;<\/th><th>Systolic mmHg&nbsp;<\/th><th>Diastolic mmHg<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><th>Normal<\/th><td>Less than 120<\/td><td>Less than 80<\/td><\/tr><tr><th>Elevated<\/th><td>120-139<\/td><td>80-89<\/td><\/tr><tr><th>High \/ Hypertension<\/th><td>140 or higher<\/td><td>90 or higher<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em><sup>&nbsp;Source: Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The importance of the numbers does vary based on other risk factors that you may have and your age. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, if you are middle aged and older, your systolic pressure gives a better diagnosis of high blood pressure. If you are younger, it is the diastolic blood pressure that is most important when identifying hypertension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBlood pressure checks and screening for hypertension are part of annual wellness visits, so it is important that adults see their doctor yearly,\u201d said Didier. \u201cIf you have a high blood pressure reading, your doctor may recommend you monitor your blood pressure at home and, depending on severity, work with you on a treatment plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-managing-your-stress\">Managing Your Stress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While there are risk factors you cannot change \u2013 such as your family history or your age \u2013 managing stress is one step you can take to maintain good health and normal blood pressure levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf are you feeling stressed, turning to unhealthy habits like eating salty foods, smoking, or drinking alcohol to help you relax may make you feel better in the moment, but it won\u2019t help you or your health in the long term,\u201d said Didier. \u201cIt\u2019s important to find healthy strategies to cope that work for you to help minimize your stress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some strategies that can help reduce stress include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Balance your priorities such as work and home.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintain a healthy and balanced diet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Exercise regularly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do things that help you relax.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make time for your favorite hobby.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Connect with friends and loved ones<strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Get plenty of sleep.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seek help and talk with a professional.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOften stress leads us to feel burnt out and overwhelmed, so it\u2019s also important to learn to say no to things,\u201d said Didier. \u201cIf you are stressed because you are taking on too much at work or at home, try setting some healthy boundaries, ask for help and know that it\u2019s okay to say no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with reducing your stress, adopting a healthy lifestyle \u2013 maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, exercising at least 30 minutes a day and eating healthy with limited salt and alcohol intake \u2013 can go a long way to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ready to manage your stress? <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/use-your-inner-power-to-tackle-stress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Find ways<\/a> to practice mindfulness.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/stress.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br>Get tips<\/a> and resources on dealing with stress.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/man-relaxing-with-hands-behind-head-314-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/man-relaxing-with-hands-behind-head-314-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/man-relaxing-with-hands-behind-head-314-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/man-relaxing-with-hands-behind-head-314-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/blood-pressure-screening-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find strategies for controlling your blood pressure and tips to reduce your stress from Dr. Alanna Didier, Samaritan Family Medicine, <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":13161,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[293],"news-types":[270],"services":[241],"specialty":[30],"class_list":["post-24342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","news-topics-wellness","news-types-feature-article","services-heart","specialty-cardiovascular-disease"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24342"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=24342"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=24342"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=24342"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=24342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}