MO TENSION LI REST BA

I am sure so many of you have heard this phrase or said it.
This is what I hear from patients when I ask them: ‘ou tension ki manière?’
‘Li bon’ or sometimes ‘li reste ba. Mo ena tension ba’.
So the next question I ask is: ‘ki ve dire li bon. Bon la combien sa’ ?
OR
‘Tension ba la combien sa’?

To this, they just smile, some simply shrug, others look blank and most remain quiet. When I repeat this question: ‘Tension ba la combien sa’ or ‘Bon la combien sa’, all of them will say: ‘mo pas conne’.
So how can you say that the blood pressure is low or is normal, when most of you don’t even know what a normal blood pressure is. If you do not know what normal is, then how could you say, what is abnormal.
Just because, someone in the health centres said ‘ tou bon’, does that really means ‘all is well’. Or because your neighbour’s cousin’s sister’s brother-in-law (someone X) said that it is low, you take it for granted that it is low! But you as the patient, never questioned whether what Person x said is the truth or just sheer gibberish!
Isn’t it surprisingly concerning, when I ask: ‘How much was the reading or the value?’ Most of have no clue. Some will tell you the values, eg 15 (they mean 150 mmHg). Is this normal?
When I push for further answers in people who say ‘mo tension li ba’..they say…’tension la li 10, 11’
Is ’10..11’ ( that’s is a systolic blood pressure of 100 mmHg OR 110 mmHg) low?
No one wants to learn but are happy listening or believing in rubbish!
Wake up now, start looking for answers and check facts, start asking questions, or tomorrow…you may not even wake up!

By Dr. Iswaraj Ramracheya