Does emotional excitement raise blood pressure?

There are many factors that affect high blood pressure, such as bad living habits, staying up late, alcoholism, etc., which can cause abnormal blood pressure. Usually, many people do not care about high blood pressure, thinking that high blood pressure is a disease that only the elderly will suffer from. Even if it occurs in young people, it will not cause much harm. In fact, this idea is wrong. High blood pressure is a relatively serious disease. Once diagnosed, it needs good care.

Does emotional excitement raise blood pressure?

High blood pressure has a lot to do with a person's mood. When people are emotionally excited, the cerebral cortex can excite the cardiac accelerator center and vasoconstriction center of the medulla oblongata, which significantly enhances the activity of the sympathetic adrenal system. At this time, not only does the release of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine from the general sympathetic nerve endings increase, but the amount of adrenaline secreted into the blood by the adrenal medulla also greatly increases.

Under the combined action of the sympathetic nerves and adrenaline, on the one hand, the heart contraction is strengthened and accelerated, and the cardiac output increases; on the other hand, the small blood vessels in most areas of the body contract and the peripheral resistance increases. Due to the increase in cardiac output and peripheral resistance, blood pressure rises. After a little rest, on the one hand, the nerve impulses from the cerebral cortex decrease and the activity of the sympathetic adrenal system weakens, causing the blood pressure to drop; on the other hand, when the blood pressure rises, the blood pressure can be restored through the aortic arch and carotid sinus pressure receptor reflex.

Hypertension is a comprehensive disease caused by multiple factors, including well-known factors such as genetics, environment, diet, etc. Many patients tend to ignore emotional factors. However, more and more studies have shown that emotions play a very important role in the development of hypertension. Long-term anxiety, depression and other emotions will constantly excite the sympathetic nerves, stimulate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, lead to increased peripheral vascular resistance and increased blood pressure; it can also act on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, increase the secretion of adrenal cortex hormones, and cause water and salt metabolism disorders, thereby increasing the possibility of hypertension; at the same time, the sensitivity or function of the pressure receptors on the blood vessels will also decrease, and blood pressure regulation will be impaired. Excessive emotional excitement can affect the endocrine system, causing blood vessels to suddenly contract and blood pressure to rise immediately. This situation is very dangerous and can easily lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Emotions have now become one of the independent risk factors affecting the onset of hypertension. Emotional instability can easily affect fluctuations in blood pressure and reduce the efficacy of antihypertensive drugs. We need to pay enough attention to this, maintain an optimistic attitude, and avoid large fluctuations in blood pressure.

The autonomic nervous system of most hypertensive patients is in an unstable state, so they often have characteristics such as quick temper, excessive liver fire, and rapid heartbeat. This is especially true for middle-aged and young people with newly developed hypertension, whose autonomic nervous system is even more unstable. If they are slightly excited, their blood pressure will rise sharply. Elderly hypertensive patients have poor adaptability to the environment, and their autonomic nervous regulation system is easily disordered, which also makes them prone to a sudden rise in blood pressure.

Hypertensive patients should monitor their blood pressure in time when they are emotionally excited. Due to individual differences, each hypertensive patient feels differently when their blood pressure suddenly rises. Some people feel nothing, or only have mild palpitations, dizziness, headaches, etc., while others feel dizzy, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, and cold limbs. Once blood pressure rises suddenly, a short-acting antihypertensive drug should be taken immediately, such as nitroglycerin, to prevent accidents. If blood pressure cannot be lowered or symptoms continue to worsen and cannot be relieved, go to the hospital in time.