She strongly believes that healthcare needs to change to benefit the patient and has traveled, lived, and volunteered medically in over 40 countries, equipping her to offer culturally competent care to all ethnic backgrounds. She has led multiple medical volunteer trips internationally and embarked on the World Race before medical school and works part-time for an anti-sex trafficking agency. She has also participated in additional training in healthcare related to LGBTQI needs and gladly accepts patients from any walk of life. In the future, she wishes to offer counseling and therapy to her patients. In her free time, Dr. Kelvas practices yoga, mindfulness meditation, and travels. She owns a medical writing company and is currently writing a book on PTSD in healthcare providers.
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Blood pressure oscillates naturally in response to bodily changes. Often people use their home BP monitors and contact their health care provider in a tizzy, alarmed any time it rises above 120/80. However, not to worry! When you feel stressed, or in pain, it’s natural for your BP to rise a bit.
In my career, I’ve seen patients who are normally normotensive, walk into my office with blood pressures around 180/90, only anxious to be in a doctor’s office! When we check for several days at home, all is normal.
So why are we seeing a steady increase in blood pressure? While multifactorial in nature, during the pandemic, more people work from home, contributing to the insidiously deadly sedentary lifestyle. Stress stemming from financial upheaval, social isolation, and whether or not to send your kids to school vs keep them at home and possibly kill them, hence the higher blood pressure.
While we’re all at home, enjoying the superfluous presence of our families, keep exercising. Distract yourself from boredom eating, and binging way too many episodes on netflix. Keep yourself and the kids busy.
Even try meditation. Numerous studies have shown that meditation, when practiced daily, can significantly lower stress, anxiety, and with that, your blood pressure.
If you notice at home that your blood pressure lives consistently above 130/90, then I’d recommend seeing a health care provider for lifestyle tips and possible medication. A lifetime of high pressure increases your risk of heart attack and stroke.
-Danielle Kelvas, MD
