High blood pressure can be made worse by stress and emotional tension. There are many other causes, including kidney causes (intrinsic disease vs vascular), hormonal (such as cushing's syndrome, a phaechromocytoma (adrenaline producing tumour), conn's syndrome, acromegaly and high parathyroid hormone levels). Other causes include pregnancy, coarctation of the aorta, and medicines given to you, such as steroids, certain antidepressants (MAOIs) and even the oral contraceptive pill can raise your BP.