Nearly 2 out of 5 people mistakenly believe that someone with high blood pressure “nearly always has noticeable symptoms,” according to the results of a recent survey.
On behalf of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, researchers from SSRS, an independent market research company, surveyed nearly 1,700 U.S. adults and found that 37% incorrectly think that high blood pressure will typically present symptoms such as dizziness or shortness of breath.
Another 39% of respondents incorrectly stated that feeling calm and relaxed is a sign that blood pressure is normal.
“The American Heart Association says that the usual absence of symptoms is why high blood pressure is known as ‘the silent killer,’” says the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
In addition, only 13% of the respondents knew that a reading of 130/80 or higher – and not 140/90 or higher – indicates high blood pressure. That change was made in 2017. (The first number in a blood pressure reading is systolic blood pressure, measured when the heart contracts and blood moves through the arteries. The second number is the diastolic reading, which measures pressure when the heart is relaxed.)
The condition contributed to more than 685,000 deaths in the United States in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Because controlling blood pressure reduces one’s risk of serious health problems, including heart attacks and strokes, correcting misperceptions about ways to identify it should be a public health priority,” said Patrick Jamieson, director of the policy center’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute.
