The myth of ‘normal’ blood pressure and why you should relax at the doctor’s

August 23, 2006 at 2:15 pm · Filed under High blood pressure


Did you know that normal blood pressure is more of a range than a fixed point?

That’s because there are many factors that can affect your blood pressure. Things like your mood, whether you just had a heavy meal, your rate of breathing, overall level of fitness, whether you exerted yourself physically, smoked, had alcohol and more. Even race, gender and of course age play a role.

What’s considered ‘normal’ blood pressure can vary with each of those factors. So what does this mean for you in practical terms?

For one thing, when you’re at the doctor’s office having your blood pressure taken, just let go and relax. If you are tense, even if you don’t show it outwardly, it can affect the blood pressure reading and potentially mislead your doctor.

Some doctors will ask you to sit in a quiet, comfortable room and relax before they measure your blood pressure. This is to alleviate the ‘white coat syndrome’, which affects more people than you realize.

To give you an idea, tests have shown that becoming somewhat tense can raise your pressure reading by a full 30mmHg. That’s a lot!

Unfortunately, tests have also shown that having blood pressure measured by a doctor (and to a lesser extent, by a nurse) is almost always higher than if measured away from hospital by someone who is not a doctor!

So relax, get accustomed to your surroundings and more often than not, your blood pressure reading will be lower and closer to what is acceptable for your age and other conditions.

Lots more stuff coming soon. Be right back!

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