The 7 Cases Where High Blood Pressure Is Okay

High blood pressure is the number one cause of death in the world.

But in some cases, it’s not just okay, but even healthy to have high blood pressure.

High blood pressure readings are not always a cause for concern, and you do not always have to rush off to the hospital if you, your gym instructor, or even your doctor receives a high reading.

High blood pressure is temporary and normal in all of the following cases:

1. If you are a little nervous around your doctor or medical paraphernalia, you suffer from something called the white coat effect. This stress increases your blood pressure and can lead to an abnormally high reading. To combat this, have your blood pressure measured at the end of your visit, ask your doctor to use a digital blood pressure measure that can work while you are alone, or buy one that you can use at home.

2. If you are an occasional coffee drinker rather than a daily consumer, the caffeine in coffee can spike your blood pressure and keep it artificially high for hours according to a Canadian study in a 2016 edition of the American Journal of Hypertension. Therefore, abstain from caffeinated drinks for a few hours before you have your blood pressure measured. The same holds for occasional smoking.

3. In a 2003 edition of the Journal of Hypertension, the European Society of Hypertension recommended that the blood pressure cuff should never be used on top of clothing, as it can increase your reading by tens of points, ouch! In the same article, they warned that you or your doctor should ensure that the circumference of your arm is not larger than the cuff indicates, as too small a cuff can result in the same abnormally elevated reading.

4. If you’re over 80 years old. Many new studies have revealed that increased blood pressure is normal as we age and it may even be healthier to have blood pressure up to 140/90 when you pass the big 8.

5. Keep quiet while the reading is taken, as a fascinating study in Behavior Science in 1982 showed that talking could increase your blood pressure, especially if it is measured by a high-status individual like a doctor rather than, say, a sibling or friend.

6. Exercising increases your blood pressure to supply your muscles and other hard-working organs with large quantities of blood, according to a study in the SciELO Scientific Electronic Library. So, during and after exercising it’s totally normal to have higher blood pressure.

7. When your bladder is full. As ridiculous as this sounds, your body responds to a full bladder by increasing hormones that facilitate its emptying, and those hormones happen to include cortisol and adrenaline, your fight or flight hormones that also increase your blood pressure.

In most other cases, having high blood pressure is life-threatening and will unavoidably lead to stroke, heart attack, or other serious health conditions.

The easiest way to slash your blood pressure is simple blood pressure exercises, proven to lower your blood pressure below 120/80—starting today…