Both anxiety and high blood pressure (hypertension) affect millions of people across the world. They’re two separate medical conditions that occur independently of each other, and at first glance, they may seem unrelated. However, research suggests they’re more connected than you may think.
In this article, we will explore the relationship between anxiety and high blood pressure. We will also dive into how and why anxiety can lead to high blood pressure, plus different treatment strategies for both conditions.
Can anxiety cause high blood pressure (hypertension)?
Yes, research has found that anxiety can cause short-term spikes in blood pressure. When your body experiences anxiety, it releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. These hormones can make your heart beat faster and cause your blood vessels to narrow, both of which lead to high blood pressure.
This automatic reaction to anxiety, panic attacks or stress is called a fight-or-flight response – it’s a survival mechanism that helps humans (and all mammals) prepare for potentially dangerous situations. After your body calms back down, these hormones usually settle back down to normal levels.
Can high blood pressure cause anxiety?
Researchers aren’t sure if high blood pressure can directly cause anxiety. However, receiving a high blood pressure diagnosis can lead to feelings of anxiety and unease.
A study of 33,000 people found that when participants knew they had high blood pressure, they were more likely to feel distressed and anxious compared to people with normal blood pressure. On the other hand, people who did have high blood pressure (and just didn’t know it) didn’t report any changes to their stress levels.
In other words, just knowing you have high blood pressure might make you feel more anxious.
Understanding anxiety’s effect on the body
Anxiety is an excessive feeling of dread, feel and worry. These overwhelming emotions are often accompanied by physical symptoms like sweating, nausea, and shortness of breath.
Even though everyone feels dread, fear and worry now and then, people with anxiety disorders experience them at a far more intense level and more frequently. For instance, most people may worry about being late for a meeting. However, someone with GAD may not be able to sleep or eat, or may break out into a sweat because of how stressed they feel about it.
Common symptoms of anxiety
Typically, anxiety manifests in the body as a wide range of emotional and physical symptoms. These symptoms can vary from mild to severe depending on your anxiety levels.
Some common symptoms of anxiety include:
- Sweating and hot flushes
- Restlessness
- Muscle tension
- Rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
- Nausea and dizziness
- Irritability
- Faster breathing
- Excessive worry and fear
- Trouble sleeping
People who have chronic anxiety can experience their symptoms frequently and in a way that feels overwhelming. Sometimes, anxiety can lead to symptoms that are similar to those of a heart attack or cardiovascular disease (heart disease). These symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath and palpitations.
What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, occurs when the pressure that pumps the blood through your arteries is too strong. If your blood pressure reading is always at or above 130/80 mmHg, it is considered hypertension. In the United States, almost half of all adults have hypertension.
Blood pressure varies depending on your activities and heart rate. For instance, your heart rate and blood pressure tend to go up when you’re working out. When you’re sleeping, on the other hand, your heart rate is typically slower, and your blood pressure is also usually lower.
What causes high blood pressure?
High blood pressure doesn’t happen overnight – it’s a condition that develops over time. Many different factors can influence whether or not a person will develop hypertension.
Some factors that increase the risk of developing hypertension include:
- Not getting enough physical activity
- Smoking
- Older age
- Unbalanced, high-salt diets
- Overuse of alcohol
- Genetics
- Chronic stress
Some health conditions like diabetes, kidney disease and sleep apnea can also lead to an increased risk factor of high blood pressure. Pregnancy can cause women to experience short-term hypertension as well.
Hypertension can also be caused by medications, such as certain birth control pills, steroids, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin or ibuprofen. In those cases, your blood pressure will typically go back to normal once you stop taking the medication.
Does long-term anxiety lead to persistent high blood pressure?
If you are experiencing panic attacks or moderate to severe bouts of anxiety every day, it can cause daily spikes in your blood pressure. These daily rises, though temporary, may cause damage to your blood vessels and heart health, as long-term hypertension might. If left untreated, long-term anxiety may also increase your risk of hypertension.
Unfortunately, our bodies and minds can’t tell the difference between when our body is under stress due to a life-threatening situation or because of a passing moment of fear or anxiety. If your body senses anxiety or stress, it releases a wave of hormones through our bodies to help us prepare for the worst-case scenario.
This makes it so that if you are someone with a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), your body may be releasing the stress hormones that cause temporary moments of high blood pressure more often.
According to the American Heart Association (ADA), treating anxiety and depression can significantly lower the number of times people with heart disease need to go to the hospital or emergency room. That said, it’s important to remember that even though anxiety and high blood pressure may be connected, they can also happen independently of one another.
Treatment for anxiety
Anxiety disorders are highly treatable. Despite that, however, only 43.2% of adults who have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder in the United States are receiving treatment. This may be due to the social stigma around mental illness, the cost of care, and a lack of information (and the spread of misinformation) when it comes to mental health.
The two most common treatment options for anxiety are:
- Psychotherapy: Talk therapy uses different therapy approaches, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you learn to identify and change your anxious thoughts, actions, and emotions.
- Medication: Certain antidepressants and anxiety medications can help reduce symptoms of anxiety when used as prescribed and under medical supervision. This includes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and beta blockers, to name a few.
Psychotherapy and medication can be used together and have both been proven to be highly effective. Medication alone might not be enough to get your anxiety under control, but talk therapy can be used separately and still be effective. Additionally, certain anxiety medications, like beta-blockers, may also help lower blood pressure. Beta-blockers control the heart rate and are sometimes used to help with performance anxiety.
If you are struggling with anxiety or your mental health, a licensed social worker, therapist, or primary care provider can help you get started on a treatment plan to start managing your anxiety and its symptoms.
Treatment for hypertension
Medication is very commonly prescribed to people with hypertension. That being said, lifestyle changes (like a healthy diet and exercise) are also an important part of managing high blood pressure, in addition to any other treatment they may be receiving.
If you're dealing or living with hypertension, it's always best to talk with your healthcare provider to determine a treatment that's best for you. A healthcare professional can also help you develop a blood pressure monitoring routine (at home or a doctor’s office), and prescribe blood pressure medication, when necessary.
How Sesame can help
If you’re navigating high blood pressure, anxiety, or both, Sesame can help you on your path toward better health. From same-day online visits for high blood pressure to affordablevirtual anxiety appointments, Sesame connects you with thousands of caring, qualified medical providers who can offer expert advice, accurate diagnoses, and tailored treatment plans from the comfort of your home.
And for convenient, ongoing access to your anxiety medication, consider Sesame’s monthly Mental Health Rx subscription. With Mental Health Rx, your provider is available for same-day prescription requests & refills, unlimited messaging, and treatment adjustments - so you'll always have your medication when you need it.
