There are some misconceptions in wide circulation among people about high blood pressure. Even though people know about high blood pressure but they do not know some of the facts and believe the misconceptions instead. Let's know more about these misconceptions.

It's not a big deal

During the early stages you may not notice symptoms of high blood pressure and so you may not be too concerned. But in the long run high blood pressure can kill you. When you have a normal blood pressure, your heart beats regularly and it pumps blood through the vessels all over your body. When blood is pushed by the heartbeat, the blood in turn pushes against the sides of your blood vessels. Blood vessels are flexible and so they can widen or constrict as needed. If your blood starts to push too hard against the blood vessels it means you have high blood pressure and it can cause your arteries to become stiff at one point of time. When you have high blood pressure regularly, it can damage your blood vessels, heart, kidneys and other organs in the body. In many places in the world high blood pressure is the leading cause of death.

It cannot be prevented

The second misconception about high blood-pressure is that it cannot be prevented. Many people believe that if their relatives have high blood pressure or if they are a member of a group of people who are at greater risk, there is no way they can prevent high blood pressure problem and they can do nothing about.

This is a misconception. There are things which you can do which will help you to prevent high blood pressure. For example, if you can keep your weight at a healthy level, you'll be able to prevent high blood pressure problem. Keeping your weight at a healthy level is possible by a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise.

Eating a healthy diet, limiting how much salt you consume, limiting the amount of alcohol you drink, stopping smoking, regularly have regular exercise, reducing stress are some of the most effective ways which will help you to ensure that you do not suffer from high blood pressure.

It's okay as long as one number is normal

Another misconception about high blood pressure is that if one of the two numbers is normal in case of blood pressure, then its fine and you don't have to worry about it. Your blood-pressure reading includes two numbers, one written on top of the other. The top number is known as systolic blood pressure and this is the number that represents the force of blood through your blood vessels during your heartbeat. 119 or below is normal systolic blood pressure. The bottom number is known as diastolic blood pressure and it represents the force of blood through your blood vessels in between heartbeats while your heart is resting. 79 or below is normal diastolic blood pressure.

It is generally seen that many people pay more attention to the systolic rate than the diastolic. But according to experts the heart can tolerate a high top or systolic number better than a high bottom or diastolic number. As you grow older the systolic number becomes more and more important as the risk of heart attack and stroke increases.

If you find that either of your blood-pressure readings is consistently above normal then you need to talk to your doctor immediately.

References

1. The Big Heart Disease Lie
2.Heart Diseases
3.Heart Disease