Stress does not only affect hormones. It changes behaviour too.
People under constant pressure are more likely to skip exercise, depend on processed food, smoke more, drink alcohol frequently, or stay physically inactive. These habits become coping mechanisms, but they also increase the risk of hypertension.
Dr Ghatak points out that “those who suffer from psychological tensions have a higher probability to eat unhealthy food, avoid physical exercises, smoke, abuse alcoholic beverages, etc. All those factors increase the likelihood of developing hypertension.”
What makes hypertension dangerous is how quietly it develops.
“The problem with hypertension is that it progresses in a quiet way,” he says. “People who suffer from stress do not even know that this factor influences their heart, kidneys, blood vessels, and brain until the damage has started to result in physical symptoms.”
According to the CDC, high blood pressure often has no obvious symptoms, which is why many people discover it only after complications begin.