Stress and hypertension: bad duo

Abnormally high level of blood pressure, hypertension is the first reason for consultation in general medicine. Affecting one in three French people, it is above all an important risk factor for stroke and myocardial infarction. The reason: excessive pressure accelerates the aging of the arteries and the heart. The heart muscle will therefore have to redouble its efforts to remain as efficient as possible: but like any muscle that is overworked, it will grow and become exhausted.

Work, sleep and hypertension

Among other factors, high blood pressure* can be favored by stress, which acts like a time bomb on the heart. Anxiety constricts the vessels, a phenomenon that causes arterial spasms.

Stress promotes hypertension but also behaviors that are harmful to health. ” People subject to chronic stress thus tend to gain weight, neglect physical activity and find comfort in tobacco and alcohol, which are false friends: they give the impression of relaxation, but actually cause more stress », declares Pr Claire Mounier-Vehier, cardiologist at the Lille University Hospital Center and co-founder of the Agir pour le cœur des femmes endowment fund.

To note : according to a study conducted by German researchers, high blood pressure combined with work-related stress and lack of sleep triples the risk of death from a cardiovascular disease or incident.

*« The limit value beyond which we speak of arterial hypertension is 140/90* when the measurement is made in the doctor’s office and 135/85* during a self-measurement. The higher the BP, the greater the risk of cardiovascular disease. “, according to the French Federation of Cardiology.