Many people get their blood pressure tested at their local GP surgery as part of general health checks. But there are three scenarios that could cause high blood pressure to soar.
Family doctor, Dr Jen Caudle, who has 223,000 subscribers on YouTube, offered three ways to bring down blood pressure quickly if these scenarios occur.
Dr Caudle said these natural methods can bring down blood pressure “super fast, even within minutes”.
Resting
The doctor’s first scenario is when patients walk from the waiting room to the doctor’s office.
Dr Caudle said: “They’ve got to get from the waiting room to the exam room. They’ve got to go through a couple of doors, they’ve got to walk through a corridor. They finally get to the exam room.
“Now if I put a blood pressure cuff on my patients immediately, I can tell you their blood pressure would be pretty high.”
In this scenario, Dr Caudle said patients are often able to lower their blood pressure very quickly by taking a moment to sit down and relax, to take a couple of deep breaths, and to allow their body to settle in.
She continued: “Remember that walk from the waiting room? Their heart rate has gone up. They’re ambulating. They might be a little short of breath depending on whatever underlying conditions they have. There’s a lot of things going on, and it’s not uncommon for blood pressure to be higher simply because you’ve had to walk a little way, or maybe you’ve been rushing to get to the office. And so you’re kind of hyped up.”
Dr Caudle advised asking whoever is taking your blood pressure to wait a few minutes before checking it.
Breathing and mindfulness
Anxiety can also cause blood pressure to shoot sky high, according to Dr Caudle. She explained: “How many of you get anxious when you get to the doctor? Or maybe you get anxious when even thinking about going to the doctor. By the way, this is so many people. I have patients that start getting anxious two weeks before they come to see me. It’s just part of who they are.”
In this scenario, Dr Caudle said a little bit of mindfulness and meditation can lower blood pressure within minutes.
She added: “Also breathing exercises. Taking a moment to take a few deep breaths, to do some breathing exercises, to have a couple of moments of silent meditation. Some mindfulness literally can help centre you, help you feel more grounded and centred so that your anxiety is less and…more likely your blood pressure will be lowered on recheck.”
Settle your emotions
Emotions can have a powerful effect on blood pressure, according to Dr Caudle.
She said: “Being tearful, being sad, crying, being upset can shoot our blood pressure way, way, way, way up. And if you have these emotions in the doctor’s office, well, your blood pressure can go sky high simply because you feel this way.”
A quick solution for this, said the doctor, is trying to calm down and settle your emotions.
She advised: “If it’s anger that you’re feeling, whether it’s mindfulness breathing, exercising, meditation etc., centre yourself so that you don’t feel the anger so much so that you don’t feel as sad.
“Changing your emotional state can literally lower your blood pressure very, very quickly.”
How to lower blood pressure if it’s consistently high
Dr Caudle’s advice is for people who generally their blood pressure is not as high – it shoots up when these scenarios are in play.
But if your blood pressure is always high, she said your goal is not going to be or shouldn’t be to lower your blood pressure acutely. You want to lower your blood pressure for the long haul.
Her tips for this include:
- Eating a healthy diet
- Minimising the salt in your diet
- Not smoking or quitting smoking if you do smoke
- Making sure that you’re exercising
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Minimising alcohol