Can being nervous about taking your blood pressure cause it to rise?

When the human body is under stress, several organs of the body will have abnormalities in the regulation of nerve reflexes, such as the emergence of sympathetic nerve excitation, which will lead to an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, a significant increase in cardiac output, myocardial contraction force increased significantly and other reactions, these changes in the body will lead to an increase in peripheral blood pressure, so that the measured blood pressure will be elevated when stressed than in the usual resting state. Therefore, patients are advised to adjust their emotions when measuring blood pressure. Try not to exercise strenuously or drink strong tea or coffee 15 minutes before the measurement. Measurement after 15 minutes of quiet rest is the most accurate measurement and best reflects the patient’s blood pressure status. A diagnosis cannot be made on the basis of a single blood pressure; current guidelines suggest that three measurements at different times can be considered diagnostic of hypertension if they are all above 140/90 mm Hg. Abnormalities in blood pressure require systematic treatment under medical supervision.