Within the several years of my practice as a doctor (15 years) and as a professor (10 years), I have encountered countless fallacies regarding hypertension. It is misconstrued as caused and worsened by taking in multivitamins, that it can be noted by the number of blood cells present in the blood, that it is due to the thickness of the blood, that it is the opposite of anemia, that it can be cured by drinking lots of pineapple juice and calamansi juice, etc etc. Well, none of those mentioned is actually correct.

What then is hypertension? What is its cause? How is it noted?

We all know that the heart works as a pump, in order to bring the blood, which contains oxygen and important nutrients, towards the different organs of the body. This pumping action causes the blood to press against the blood vessel walls, and the pressing of this blood against the blood vessel wall causes the blood pressure.

Contraction of the heart forces the blood inside it outwards into the arteries. Arteries are the blood vessels which carry blood away from the heart, carrying with it oxygenated and nutrient-filled blood which will nourish the different parts of our body, thus keeping it healthy. The pressure noted when blood presses against the arteries is the systolic blood pressure, which is normal at 120 mmHg and below.

On the other hand, relaxation of the heart, which happens right after contraction, causes the insides of the heart to be filled again with blood. This results in the falling of the blood pressure, which is called the diastolic pressure, normal at 90 mmHg and below.

Blood pressure then is expressed as systolic over the diastolic pressure, measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg), using the sphygmomanometer as an instrument. It is normal within the range of 120/80 mmHg at rest.

Hypertension is blood pressure which is above the normal range, noted in at least two separate occasions. We simply cannot declare a person hypertensive on the first visit because blood pressure actually fluctuates and it changes even within the day. The reason is that it is affected by stress, emotions, anxiety, and physical activity. That it also why doctors recommend taking blood pressure readings in the morning and while the person is at rest.

Hypertension is multifactorial. We call it secondary hypertension when it is brought on by other medical conditions like narrowing of the aorta or other main arteries, kidney problems, adrenal tumors, thyroid problems, etc. But never that it is caused by taking multivitamins. Blame first the fatty  foods that you eat which can clog your arteries before you blame the multivitamins. And the pineapple juice has definitely no role in lowering the blood pressure.

What about anemia? Is it synonymous with hypotension? No, it is not.

Anemia is the deficiency of hemoglobin, present in red blood cells, responsible for carrying the oxygen needed by the tissues. It is noted by taking blood samples either through venipuncture or finger pricking. Blood samples are then counted for the person’s CBC (complete blood count). The RBC (red blood cell) count is a component of CBC, together with WBC count and differential count. A low RBC count below normal value is what we call anemia.