A new trend taking shape on the subreddit r/Wellthatsucks has users competing for a dubious high score — with an ambulance ride or worse as the gold prize: the highest blood pressure reading.
“I didn’t even know I had high blood pressure,” one Redditor wrote in a thread. Compared to a healthy blood pressure reading that maxes out at 120/80 mm Hg, this poster came it at 218/124, which is well above the threshold for a medical emergency.
“Goddamn dude, I thought my blood pressure was high when I got my thumb bitten off a couple weeks ago,” one concerned peer responded. That thread seemed to kick off a horrifying competition on the subreddit.
“I heard we were doing blood pressure high scores,” another Redditor mused, sharing their terrifying reading of 240/106. Some in the comments chimed in with their equally-concerning results, scores like 191/126; 217/156; and 240/142.
Blood pressure is a standard medical reading that provides a lot of useful information about your general health, especially regarding the cardiovascular system. The top number represents pressure during a heartbeat, and the bottom number is the pressure between beats.
As a blood pressure reading ascends past 120/80, it’s a strong warning sign of an impending heart attack stroke, or other catastrophic and sometimes fatal outcome. Many patients aren’t aware of their high blood pressure, leading public health experts to term it a “silent killer.”
Blood pressure hasn’t been so silent lately on Reddit. Arguably the winner of the morbid contest so far is one post titled “My husband’s entry to the hypertension high scores,” which features a ludicrous reading of 251/176 — a figure so high it defies medical explanation.
“Had a mild headache. That was it,” the Redditor wrote. “Went to the ER and they didn’t believe us at first but then took his bp themselves and rushed him to the back. He was just chilling the whole time.”
Now, everything posted on Reddit has to be taken with a grain of salt — no pun intended, since high sodium intake is strongly correlated with high blood pressure. By the same token, blood pressure readings aren’t the kind of thing you get any points for lying about, so if your blood pressure reads like a batting average, please see a doctor. The Reddit high score chase can wait, at least until they get you on some meds to stabilize the situation.
More on health and wellness: Scientists Just Found Something Rather Grim That Happens When You Stop Taking GLP-1s
The post Redditors Are Posting Their Blood Pressure “High Scores” and We’re Concerned They May Explode Into a Fountain of Red Mist appeared first on Futurism.
