From texting to dreaming, these daily habits could make your blood pressure spike

There is a spy in my kitchen, and he knows my darkest secrets. If there’s been a bit too much partying chez Hoggard, I banish him to the cupboard. 

But on good days – after a brisk walk, say – I switch on my Omron M4 Intelli IT blood pressure monitor, inflate the arm cuff, and gaze hopefully at the screen. As the figures on the dashboard spin, I groan. “Grade 1 Hypertension” it says, again. Damn, the spy clearly knows that I had three double gins yesterday. 

He’s like the bad boyfriend, who raises your hopes of a positive outcome, then dashes them. But daily tracking is a good thing, especially if, like me, you have a family history of heart problems; my father and all my grandparents died of heart attacks early in life. It can help you establish a baseline for your version of “normal”, and chart any changes to your levels over time.

As we get older, it’s even more important to be on top of our own personal “normals”. More than half of us will have some kind of circulatory problem in our lifetime and now a new study from Our Future Health – set to be the UK’s biggest health study of its kind – has found that one in four people have high blood pressure, putting them at risk of future heart problems and other serious diseases including stroke, diabetes and dementia. Half aren’t diagnosed or receiving treatment; hence hypertension being known as “the silent killer”. 

An “ideal” blood pressure is usually thought to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. But if your blood pressure is between 120/80mmHg and 140/90mmHg (like me), you could be at risk of developing high blood pressure, medically known as hypertension.

No wonder the home blood pressure monitor has become the equivalent of the Aga or the boiling water tap in smart kitchens across the land. Drinking, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle are all hard-wired to raise blood pressure. 

Even talking on the phone can cause it to spike: research published earlier this year by a Chinese university suggests talking on a mobile phone for just half an hour per week is linked to a greater risk of high blood pressure. What hope is there for us?

Those stressful spikes

Having your blood pressure taken isn’t an exact science. Some people can get “white coat syndrome” – an artificially raised result when they visit their GP. “Other factors can cause your blood pressure to fluctuate throughout the day, such as the temperature, when you last ate, or if you’re feeling stressed,” says senior cardiac nurse, Chloe MacArthur, a spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation. 

“Even our position affects the way our blood pressure goes up and down,” says MacArthur. “A good example is when you stand up from the chair and feel a bit dizzy; your blood pressure hasn’t caught up yet. If someone is a night-shift worker, or they smoke, or they’ve got a lot of stress and anxiety at the moment, that’s all going to have an effect on how it fluctuates as well. There are lots of things in our normal lifestyle that might exacerbate it. What we don’t want is for it to go up and stay up. So making sure that you’re taking any medications for blood pressure, as directed by your doctor, and keeping a healthy weight and balanced diet all help to keep it steady.” 

Graham MacGregor is chair of Blood Pressure UK and professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health and honorary consultant at Barts & The London School of Medicine. In his view, there is little evidence that stress itself causes high blood pressure (bang goes my excuse for downing Bombay Mix on a work deadline). But when we’re stressed, we do make poorer lifestyle choices, he believes. 

“With reference to the Chinese mobile phone study, it’s possible that the people who use their mobile phone more may sit at the computer all day and eat more processed food,” says MacGregor. “What we’re interested in is when blood pressure is raised consistently over a period of time. You’ve got to measure it when you’re relaxed and see what the average level is. There’s no point taking it when you’ve just had an argument with your wife, or the children have been annoying you, or you’re incredibly hungover. You’ve got to do it once or twice a day, in a consistent way, and measure it properly, sitting at a desk.” 

So, for a week I keep a Bridget Jones-style diary (monitoring my blood pressure numbers), aided by my brutal bad-boyfriend home monitor.

Lifestyle changes matter most

Graham MacGregor is chair of Blood Pressure UK and professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health and honorary consultant at Barts & The London School of Medicine. In his view, there is little evidence that stress itself causes high blood pressure (bang goes my excuse for downing Bombay Mix on a work deadline). But when we’re stressed, we do make poorer lifestyle choices, he believes.

“With reference to the Chinese mobile phone study, it’s possible that the people who use their mobile phone more may sit at the computer all day and eat more processed food,” says MacGregor. “What we’re interested in is when blood pressure is raised consistently over a period of time. You’ve got to measure it when you’re relaxed and see what the average level is. There’s no point taking it when you’ve just had an argument with your wife, or the children have been annoying you, or you’re incredibly hungover. You’ve got to do it once or twice a day, in a consistent way, and measure it properly, sitting at a desk.”

So, for a week I keep a Bridget Jones-style diary (monitoring my blood pressure numbers), aided by my brutal bad boyfriend home monitor.

Day 1 

10am, after three strong coffees – 162/96 (Grade 2 Hypertension). Whoah, that’s high. Even if you have normal blood pressure readings, caffeine consumption can cause a temporary but dramatic blood pressure spike. Second reading 12pm (after a 20-minute walk and 25-minute swim). 131 /92 (back to Grade 1). Bad Boyfriend relents a little

Day 2 

Hot bath. 10am: 120/91 (Grade 1 Hypertension). Walk to shops for newspapers: 122/84 (back to Normal).

Day 3 

Wake 6.30am after nightmare: 145/94 (Grade 1 Hypertension). It’s linked to the body’s stress and anxiety response, explains Chloe MacArthur. Second reading at 10.30am (after walk and swim) an improved 132/85 (High Normal). In the afternoon I have a standing ticket to see a sold-out play, Private Lives, but, hurrah, spot a free seat. Then spend two hours terrified I’ll be shamed. Reading: 140/100 (Grade 2 Hypertension).

Day 4 

8.45am. Last night’s pizza and cocktails have given me an alarming 132/100 reading this morning. Like Bridget Jones, I feel fat and repulsive. Promise Bad Boyfriend that tomorrow a new Spartan health and beauty regime will begin. “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a reasonable amount of alcohol,” says  MacArthur, “if it’s a special occasion. But it can have a transitory effect on your blood pressure and heart rate. It’s not necessarily anything harmful if you’re being responsible with your intake.” I atone with an hour-long gym session. By 1pm, my reading is 123/90 (Grade 1 Hypertension).

Day 5 

Up at 6am to pack for a trip away with my partner. Arrive at train station breathless and panicked. To my surprise, my reading is Healthy Normal – 125/75. “If you’re moving, if you’re keeping an active healthy lifestyle, that helps bring your blood pressure down as well,” says MacArthur.

Day 6 

8.30am. Lack of space in our tiny hotel room triggers a row. Reading: 132/91 (Grade 1 Hypertension). I’m already rewriting my dating profile in my head; clearly this relationship is going nowhere. The experts counsel taking a deep breath. “Your stress hormones are going up, because the brain is getting you ready to run from danger. So blood vessels tighten (a vasoconstriction of the vessels) and blood pressure goes up. But this is transitory. It will come down,” says MacArthur.

Day 7 

Tricky phone call at 1pm with work “frenemy” (oh yes, she’s enjoying it). My sky-high reading of 152/87 is classified as isolated systolic hypertension. MacArthur says speaking on mobiles and texting can be more stressful than meeting in real life (where you can read facial expressions). “It comes back to the mental-health aspect. We’ve all had that experience where we think: ‘I couldn’t quite read their tone. Are they mad at me?’ And then you start spiralling.” Watching TV, 10pm. 128/78 (Normal).

What I’ve learnt after a week 

It shocks me that, until a few months ago, I had no idea I should check my blood pressure (and that, like one in four healthy adults, I can have high readings). 

The good news is I can adjust my lifestyle to bring it down. A night off the booze makes a huge difference; ditto avoiding sugar. I’ve started swimming at 7.30am to give myself a clear head in the mornings. The monitor shows I don’t always handle stress well – I’m clearly a hunter gatherer type in 21st-century clothing. 

My brain really does think I’m being chased by a lion at times. I’ve learnt that good stress, such as running for a train, can bring it down to normal. But through better lifestyle choices, I need to avoid spikes and valleys in blood pressure, so it remains steady. 

“Not just for your heart health, but for your general mental health,” says MacArthur. A single high reading isn’t a cause for concern, so long as blood pressure returns to pre-stress levels. “It’s very normal for our blood pressure to go up and down. Your body is doing what it’s designed to do.”