Stress and High Blood Pressure

Does stress affect one’s blood pressure? Of course it does, most people would say. Yet, for many years the medical community were unconvinced. They were sceptical that stress reduction techniques effectively lower elevated blood pressure (The Sixth Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Arch Intern Med 1997;157:2413-46). That was until a 1997 landmark study showed that stress management and relaxation techniques such as meditation can help in controlling high blood pressure. In that study researchers found nearly 70 percent of patients with mild to moderate hypertension using techniques to reduce stress were able to reduce their medication after six weeks; after one year, 55 percent required no medication. (Shapiro D, Hui KK, Oakley ME, et al. Reduction in drug requirements for hypertension by means of a cognitive-behavioral intervention. Am J Hypertens 1997;10:9-17).

Stress occurs when we are unable to cope with high demands placed upon us. Because it is difficult to measure stress, conclusive research into this area is difficult. However, we do know that:

• Stress can affect the heart by releasing certain hormones that can increase blood pressure.

• When a person is under stress, his blood vessels contract; thus greater pressure is required to force the blood through them

• Stress can make on more inclined to turn to unhealthy behaviors that are known to increase blood pressure.

• Stress can make a person less inclined to turn to healthy activities that are known to decrease blood pressure.

It is important, then, that we all have coping strategies to deal with stress. The first key is to be aware of harmful stress. We can do this by keeping a stress diary in which list the things that cause us stress. If we can’t eliminate the cause of the stress, we need to change the way in which we react to it. The following suggestions have helped many people to do just that:

• Communicate freely about the stress causer with your partner and others.

• Be assertive about your needs.

• Use humor.

• Accept what you can’t change.

(British Heart Foundation website – bhf.org.uk).