High blood pressure has two major causes in my opinion...physical and chemical.
I'd like to discuss a gentle physical chest/rib cage stretch that lowered my blood pressure from 170/95 to 135/77.
First some history of how I realized what to do;
After visiting my chiropractor (one of those soft touch types) for two months I noticed my bp lowered (I have a bp meter and checked it daily), I stopped going for a month and my bp raised, I started chiropractic again...bp down, stopped chiropractic visits...bp up. To state the obvious, relaxation improved/lowered my bp.

Now I've tried to "just relax", but that isn't easy to do day in and day out. So I thought, what if the tension in my chest raised bp by constricting blood flow around the heart just by squeezing it. I tried simply widening my chest/rib cage. I could also describe it as trying to stand with good posture and shoulders back, chest forward and then widen your lower rib cage. This removes the pressure on the heart area. If you try to do it really intensely, you'll quit soon, so just be gentle and you can do it many hours per day. I noticed this stretching also slowed my breathing too. I've written another article recently on the "how to relax after work" regarding the benefits of slow breathing and how muscles relax when you breath slower. I feel like there may be equal strengths to lowering bp from the slow breathing and this chest stretch, I'd really like to know which helps the most, maybe you can help me find the answer.

Anyhow, it took me just over 3 days of gently widening my ribcage for my bp to drastically change, and it change overnight. I woke up on the 4th morning happily surprised and a bit puzzled. In the past year, I've had about 3 cycles of increased bp (when I've not bothered to stretch my chest) followed by lowered bp (after again about 3 days of strecthing) over the past year. You know, if it was just the streching, I would think bp would lower immediately and not take 3 full days for me. Maybe it's the slower breathing...time may tell.
Lately I've been stretching my ribcage every other day or so for a little bit every few hours, I also try to breathing slower nowadays.

These are the last 14 reading's in my bp meter memory over maybe the past 2 months;
134/80, 122/76, 132/73, 146/83, 128/75, 120/74, 158/77, 144/77, 117/78, 103/68, 130/81, 127/84, 121/71 & 132/76. I'm 6'0" #195, age 49.

To summarize; gently stretch your chest, slow your breathing (notice the stretching naturally slows your breathing). Your bp will lower after 3 or 4 days. If it doesn't, sorry.
Good luck, live healthier, :) kch.

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