“While high blood pressure used to be defined as over 140/90 mm Hg, that definition has changed in the past few years,” explains Parveen Garg, MD, a cardiologist at Keck Medicine of USC and associate professor of clinical medicine and population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Myth: High blood pressure is over 140/90 mm Hg.įact: High blood pressure is over 130/80 mm Hg. Here we debunk some myths and highlight ways to reduce your risk for high blood pressure. This can cause damage to your blood vessels, making them stiffer and decreasing blood flow and oxygen to your heart, eventually leading to heart disease - the No. Also called hypertension, high blood pressure happens when the force required to pump blood through your blood vessels is too high. High blood pressure affects nearly half of adults in the United States, but only 1 in 4 has it under control. Does drinking alcohol raise blood pressure? What are the signs of high blood pressure? Find out the answers - and the truth behind common blood pressure misconceptions.
