Myths and Facts of Hypertension

Myth	Fact
If my blood pressure were high, I would be able to feel it	High blood pressure often referred as “silent killer”, means that it may exist and you will not able to feel it. It usually no symptoms. How fast your heart beats is not necessarily indicating how high your blood pressure is. The only way to find out is get a regular blood pressure checkup at your doctor.
One abnormal pressure reading that detected by doctor means I have high blood pressure	One high reading of blood pressure is not enough to determine. A several readings will be measured over a period of time at least two more times on separate days to check whether it is still high. To get an accurate reading, avoid caffeine and physical activity several hours before the test.
It’s OK as long as one of the blood pressure number (either systolic or diastolic) is normal	There are 2 reading when we measure blood pressure that is systolic reading per diastolic reading. One written on top of the other. It is not true that you are ok if just one of the numbers is abnormal. If one of the numbers is consistently high, action should be taken to lower it down.
I don’t need to take my blood pressure medication since I feel just fine	High blood pressure may have some unnoticed symptoms for years. So, often even the patient have high blood pressure, they will not experience any symptoms, but it is dangerous as organ damage and other serious conditions develop over time. Therefore, medication and lifestyle changes are needed to be applied to control it below 140/90 mmHg. Medication can be reduced or stopped once blood pressure is reduced significantly and lifestyle changed but this must be prescribed by doctor, not on own decision.
Medication is the only way to control high blood pressure	Not only medication although it is extremely important. Lifestyle habits changes such as intake of salty food, smoking must be avoided to control. Medication alone couldn't make the treatment success.
My blood pressure is high only because I drink so much coffee.	It is still a controversial issue. This is because the body seems to become tolerant to the effects of caffeine when drinking it regularly. However caffeine may worsen other heart conditions like irregular heartbeat. Coffee may not be the causes of the high blood pressure.