Environmental Factors
High blood pressure may be due to a slew of lifestyle choices, such as a lack of adequate exercise and poor diet. The American Heart Association recommends people perform at least 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercises four times a week to promote fitness and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
A physically inactive lifestyle is not good for hypertension. Over time, it can harm your body and result in the development of serious cardiovascular diseases. Regular physical activity can help reduce hypertension. If you are physically unfit or sedentary, your risk of developing high blood pressure increases by 30 to 50 percent [6]. Physical inactivity can also contribute to excess weight gain, which itself is a risk for high blood pressure.
Stress [7] is another environmental factor that can affect your blood pressure. Hormones released by your body in stressful situations accelerate your heart rate and narrow your blood vessels, causing a temporary spike in your blood pressure. It is not clear to scientists if this effect builds up to cause long-term high blood pressure yet, but it can aggravate hypertension. Fortunately, regular exercise can help relieve stress.