Does hypertension (high blood pressure) have anything to do with being "excessively tense"?

Question

If not why is it called hypertension? Is there any causal relationship between stress and anxiety and hypertension?

Answer 1

Ninety percent of hypertension is primary hypertension - that is there is no particular organic source of the high blood pressure. As blood pressure is variable by design (ready to fight or run from that saber toothed tiger at a moments notice) it can change based on the level of excitement you are experiencing. This is a temporary change as opposed to the consistently high readings associated with high blood pressure needing treatment.

Exercising is another example of when our blood pressure raises substantially while engaging in the activity, to level off after stopping.

Having said that there was an interesting study done that demonstrated a relationship with the number of hours a person worked per week and their associated blood pressure. The more hours worked the higher the blood pressure on average. It would therefore be hard to argue that day to day stressors in our daily lives - which release cathecolamines into our blood stream - do not play a role in hypertension. Vigorous cardiovascular exercise is a great antedote to that influence, by the way.

Good luck.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Actually, yes, there is a direct correlation between high blood pressure and stress. Stress worsens the hypertension drastically, and is often the main cause! Its very important to try to manage stress, as well, Meds help drastically.

Answer 4

Hyper=restless, and all the above so I would say yes to your question.