6. Medication
A wide range of medications can increase your heart rate and elevate your blood pressure. When starting any new course of medication, it is always important to read the potential side effects and to discuss these with your physician.
Likewise, many natural and legal drugs that we use on a daily basis can also increase our blood pressure. For instance, alcohol is known to elevate blood pressure which it does because the body tries to eliminate the alcohol from the system.
Smoking is also well known to raise blood pressure, as is drinking caffeine which is not only a stimulant but is also a vasoconstrictor, meaning that it narrows the blood vessels.