Blood pressure is the pressure exerted on the inside of blood vessel walls as blood circulates. If this pressure is higher than normal, it is called high blood pressure. Maintaining healthy blood pressure is very important for health, according to the health website Healthline (USA).
Factors such as drinking a lot of caffeine, taking certain medications, stress, hot weather or fever can all affect blood pressure readings.
To know if a person has high blood pressure or not and how to treat it, the first thing to do is to measure the blood pressure. Blood pressure readings will help the doctor know the pressure that the heart is under as well as the condition of the blood vessels.
However, there are a number of factors that can cause blood pressure readings to be falsely high. The most common factors that can affect blood pressure readings include caffeine intake, certain medications, stress, sleep quality, and even sitting position.
Another factor that few people think about is the effect of white coat hypertension syndrome. This syndrome occurs when the patient sees a doctor in a white coat and suddenly has a sudden increase in blood pressure. The reason is that when seeing a doctor in a white coat, it triggers a feeling of anxiety, causing an increase in the stress hormone adrenaline and increasing blood pressure.
The Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit medical center in the US, said that white coat hypertension syndrome can affect 15-30% of people with high blood pressure. In addition, even healthy people can experience this condition. Measures such as deep breathing and meditation will help calm down and limit the effects of white coat hypertension syndrome.
Sitting posture also affects blood pressure readings. Research in the journal Blood Pressure Monitoring shows that sitting with your legs crossed at knee level when measuring blood pressure can significantly increase systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Therefore, to ensure accurate measurement results, the sitting posture should be comfortable, with both legs naturally placed on the floor, the back against the chair and the arm held at heart level.
Another surprising factor that can affect blood pressure is a full bladder. A full bladder can stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and temporarily increase blood pressure. In addition, factors such as hot weather, fever, dehydration, and infection can also temporarily increase blood pressure, according to Healthline .
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