According to the American Heart Association (AHA), in response to stressful situations, our bodies react by releasing stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) into the blood.
“These hormones prepare the body for the ‘fight or flight’ response by making the heart beat faster and constricting blood vessels to get more blood to the core of the body instead of the extremities,” says the AHA.
As it explains, constriction of blood vessels and increase in heart rate does raise blood pressure, but only temporarily — when the stress reaction goes away, blood pressure returns to its pre-stress level.
General tips to lower high blood pressure
According to the NHS, you should cut down on the amount of salt in your food and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.