Have you ever noticed your blood pressure changes from day to day? We’ve all experienced fluctuations in our body’s most vital statistics but, what causes this to be the case? There can be various causes ranging from some serious health conditions to something as small as laughter. In this article, we will discuss various reasons for fluctuations in blood pressure and what is the best way to measure it. 

Medications

Some medications that typically affect blood pressure include diuretics, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers. Diuretics and beta-blockers lower the amount of fluid within the body by lowering its potential to keep on to sodium, which helps lessen blood pressure.

Calcium channel blockers work by blocking calcium from entering cells inside the heart and arteries. The rest of the cells facilitates decreased blood stress. ACE inhibitors dilate blood vessels to provide extra oxygen to the body. Therefore if you are on any of those medicinal drugs, your blood pressure is bound to vary.

Change in Temperature

A lower temperature causes your body to constrict its blood vessels, causing an increase in peripheral vascular resistance, which in the long run will increase the blood pressure. Similarly, a temperature rise will cause the blood vessels to dilate, leading to lower blood pressure levels.

People with high or low-regular blood pressure are especially liable to fast changes in temperature as it can trigger a substantial change in their readings. Depending on how extreme the fluctuations become, this can potentially lead to dizziness, fatigue, or even more serious health conditions such as stroke or a heart attack.

Emotional Changes

Changes in emotion can have a significant impact on your blood pressure. When you enjoy experiencing strong feelings, such as worry or anger, your body releases hormones that cause your heart to beat quicker and your blood vessels to constrict. This results in an increase in blood pressure. Conversely, the opposite happens when you experience positive emotions like happiness, and your blood pressure decreases. Therefore, it's crucial to try and keep a balanced emotional state to keep your blood pressure stable because studies have suggested that prolonged stress can lead to permanent blood pressure.

Adrenal Gland Disorders

Adrenal gland problems can cause fluctuations in blood pressure. This is because the hormones involved in regulating blood pressure, mainly epinephrine and norepinephrine, are produced by adrenal glands. When those glands become overactive or underactive because of a health disorder, they do not produce enough of these hormones or produce an excessive amount of them, which leads to fluctuations in BP. As a result, people with adrenal gland disorders experience high blood pressure (high blood pressure) and low blood pressure (hypotension).

Similarly, pheochromocytoma, an adrenal gland tumor, produces high levels of adrenal hormones, which leads to sudden outbursts of high blood pressure, which normal blood pressure between those episodes.

Activity

Various activities such as exercise, laughter, and even talking can increase your blood pressure. Although exercise is a great way to keep your mind and body healthy, however, there is an acute increase in your blood pressure along with your heart rate. Studies have suggested that exercise-induced can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

White Coat Hypertension

White coat high blood pressure (also referred to as white coat syndrome) is a situation in which someone's blood pressure rises during a visit to a physician. This temporary rise may be due to tension or worry, but irrespective of the cause, it could lead to inaccurate readings and misdiagnosis. White coat syndrome can be managed by using BP2A blood pressure monitors, which allow you to measure your BP anywhere accurately and save them into the ViHealth app for future reference.

Nonetheless, white coat syndrome is not a problematic condition. Studies have suggested that people with white coat hypertension had a lower risk of heart disease.

Caffeine and Alcohol

Caffeine and alcohol will have a significant impact on your blood pressure. Caffeine is a stimulant, increasing heart rate and consequently raising blood pressure. Alcohol, on the other hand, causes the body to loosen up and lowers blood pressure.

In moderation, both can be beneficial for your cardiovascular health, but excessive consumption of both can cause long-term damage to your circulatory system.

Regularly checking your blood pressure is essential for keeping track of your cardiovascular health. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for various diseases, which can involve your heart, brain, kidneys, etc.

Monitoring your blood pressure will let you become aware of problems before they can emerge as serious illnesses, allowing you to take steps toward making improvements to your health. Additionally, everyday monitoring can help you to see if changes to lifestyle or medication have an impact on your blood pressure levels.

Blood pressure is evaluated in two values, i.e., Systolic strain and diastolic pressure. Here is how you can assess if your blood pressure is within normal range or not:

Normal Blood Pressure: Between 90/60 mmHg and 120/80mmHg

High Blood Pressure: Above 140/90 mmHg

Low Blood Pressure: Below 90/60 mmHg

Taking your blood pressure at home is an important step in monitoring and managing your health. Here are a few tips on how to take your blood pressure effectively at home:

1. Make sure that you have a reliable digital blood pressure monitor with cuff-sized appropriately for your arm circumference.

2. Avoid drinking coffee or smoking 30 minutes prior to taking the measurement. Wearing loose clothing will also help ensure more accurate results.

3. Get yourself in a comfortable, relaxed position before taking the reading. Sit with your back supported and feet flat on the floor.

4. Take two or three readings separately at different times to ensure accuracy. Aim for taking blood pressure measurements around the same time of day each time you measure it as this will help provide more consistency in results.

5. Always remember to record your results so that you can track them over time and look for any patterns that may indicate health concerns or changes in lifestyle habits.