What to Do if Your Blood Pressure Is Too Low

Overview

Symptoms of low blood pressure include dizziness, fatigue, confusion and nausea. — Some possible symptoms of low blood pressure.

What is low claret pressure?

Hypotension, or low blood pressure, is when your blood pressure is much lower than expected. It can happen either as a condition on its own or every bit a symptom of a broad range of weather. It may non cause symptoms, only when it does, it tin require medical attention.

Hypotension has two definitions:

Absolute hypotension: Your resting blood pressure level is beneath 90/60 mmHg (millimeters of mercury).
Orthostatic hypotension: Your blood pressure level drops within 3 minutes of you continuing up from a sitting position. The driblet must be 20 mmHg or more than for your systolic (tiptop) pressure and ten mmHg or more than for your diastolic (bottom) force per unit area. Some other name for this is postural hypotension considering it happens with changes in posture.

Measuring blood pressure involves 2 numbers, top and bottom, in mm/Hg.

Systolic (summit number): Your systolic pressure is the pressure on your arteries each time your heart beats. To observe your systolic pressure, a healthcare provider* inflates a cuff that squeezes your arm. At the aforementioned time, they heed to your pulse at a point below the cuff. Your systolic pressure is when they can't hear your pulse anymore because the gage's pressure level is stronger than the pressure from your heart pumping.
Diastolic (bottom number): That number is how much pressure your arteries are under betwixt heartbeats. The provider will proceed listening for your pulse to find your diastolic pressure while they deflate the gage. Your diastolic pressure level is the number where they tin again hear your heartbeat as the cuff deflates.

*Thanks to technological advances, many modernistic devices tin can measure your blood pressure automatically. These devices are at present recommended for use instead of measuring blood pressure with the traditional stethoscope method.

What is the difference between hypotension vs. hypertension?

Hypotension and hypertension are reverse atmospheric condition.

Hypertension: The prefix "hyper-" means "also high."
Hypotension: The prefix "hypo-" means "too low."

Who does it affect?

Hypotension can touch on people of whatsoever age and groundwork, depending on why it happens. Withal, it's more likely to cause symptoms in older people (particularly orthostatic hypotension). It can also happen with no symptoms to people who are very physically agile, which is more than common in younger people.

How common is this condition?

Considering low blood pressure level is common without any symptoms, information technology's impossible to know how many people it really affects overall. However, orthostatic hypertension seems to exist more than and more common every bit you get older. An estimated v% of people have information technology at age l, while that effigy climbs to more than 30% in people over 70.

How does this condition affect my body?

Under normal circumstances, your body can automatically control your claret pressure and keep it from dropping besides much. If information technology starts to drib, your body tries to recoup for that, either by speeding upward your heart rate or constricting claret vessels to make them narrower. Symptoms of hypotension happen when your torso can't compensate enough to kickoff the drop in blood pressure.

For many people, hypotension doesn't cause any symptoms. Many people don't even know their blood pressure is low unless they get their blood pressure measured.

For people with symptoms, the effects depend on why hypotension is happening, how fast it develops and what caused it. Tiresome decreases in blood pressure happen normally, and then hypotension becomes more common as people get older. Fast decreases in blood pressure level tin mean certain parts of your body aren't getting plenty blood flow. That can take furnishings that are unpleasant, disruptive or even unsafe.

Symptoms and Causes

What are the symptoms?

The most common symptoms of low blood pressure happen because your brain isn't getting enough blood period. These include:

Dizziness or feeling empty-headed.
Fainting or passing out (syncope).
Nausea or vomiting.
Blurred or distorted vision.
Fast, shallow breathing.
Fatigue or weakness.
Feeling tired, sluggish or lethargic.
Confusion or trouble concentrating.
Agitation or other unusual changes in behavior (a person non acting like themselves).

What causes depression claret pressure?

Hypotension tin happen for a wide range of reasons.

Orthostatic hypotension. This happens when you stand up as well quickly and your body tin can't compensate with more than claret menstruum to your brain.
Central nervous system diseases. Conditions like Parkinson's affliction can bear upon how your nervous system controls your blood pressure level. People who have hypotension because of these conditions may feel the effects of low claret pressure after eating because their digestive system uses more than blood as it works to assimilate food.
Low claret volume. Blood loss from severe injuries tin cause low blood force per unit area. Dehydration can likewise contribute to low blood volume.
Life-threatening conditions. These atmospheric condition include irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias), pulmonary embolism, center attacks and collapsed lung. Life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) or immune reactions to severe infections (sepsis) tin can also cause hypotension.
Heart and lung conditions. When your center beats besides fast or as well irksome, or if your lungs aren't working as they should, both can pb to hypotension.
Prescription medications. Hypotension tin can happen with medications that treat blood force per unit area, heart failure, erectile dysfunction, neurological problems, depression and more than.
Alcohol or recreational drugs. Recreational drugs can lower your claret pressure, as tin can alcohol (alcohol's effect only lasts a short time, and long-term overuse of alcohol tin can crusade loftier blood pressure). Though not technically medications, sure herbal supplements, vitamins or abode remedies can also lower your blood force per unit area, which is why yous should always include these when you lot tell your healthcare provider what medications you're taking.
Orthostatic hypotension is possible in the start and second trimesters of pregnancy. Bleeding or other complications of pregnancy can as well cause low claret force per unit area.
Extreme temperatures. Being too hot or too cold tin bear on hypotension and make its effects worse.

Is hypotension contagious?

No, hypotension isn't contagious, and then you tin't get it from someone else or pass it to others.

Diagnosis and Tests

How is it diagnosed?

Hypotension itself is easy to diagnose. All it takes is taking your blood pressure. However, figuring out why you have hypotension is another story. If you have symptoms, a healthcare provider volition likely utilise a variety of tests to figure out why it's happening and if there'southward any danger to you lot because of it.

What tests will exist washed to diagnose this condition?

Tests that are probable with hypotension include those listed below.

Lab testing

Tests on your blood and urine can look for whatsoever potential problems like:

Diabetes.
Vitamin deficiencies.
Thyroid or hormone bug
Low atomic number 26 levels (anemia).
Pregnancy test (for anyone who can get pregnant).

Imaging

If doctors suspect a heart or lung trouble behind your hypotension, they'll likely utilise imaging tests to confirm or rule out those suspicions. These tests include:

X-rays.
Computed tomography (CT) scans.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Echocardiogram or like ultrasound-based tests.

Diagnostic testing

These tests wait for specific problems with your heart or other body systems.

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG).
Practise stress testing (or some variation of that examination).
Tilt table test (tin can help in diagnosing orthostatic hypotension).

Management and Handling

How is information technology treated, and tin it be cured?

Treating hypotension normally starts with finding out why it's happening. If that cause is treatable directly, hypotension will unremarkably get better on its own. An example of this is hypotension that happens considering of an injury and claret loss. Repairing that injury and replacing the lost blood (such as with a claret transfusion) volition end hypotension as long as the repair to the injury holds. If you take medications that bear on your blood force per unit area, your healthcare provider may modify your dosage or have yous end taking that medication entirely.

If the cause remains a mystery, it's also possible to treat it direct. However, curing hypotension is only possible if at that place's an underlying cause that'due south curable.

What medications/treatments are used?

Treating hypotension directly usually happens in one of three means:

Increasing blood book. This method, also known equally fluid resuscitation, involves infusing fluids into your blood. Examples of this include intravenous (Iv) fluids, plasma or blood transfusions.
Making blood vessels constrict. Simply as at that place are medications that lower your blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels in your body, there are also medications that have the opposite issue.
Change how your trunk handles fluids. Your kidneys are responsible for maintaining the fluid balance in your body. Certain medications can make your kidneys keep fluid and table salt in your body, which can help with depression blood pressure.

Complications/side effects of the treatment

The complications of either treatment depend on the exact medication or handling you receive. Your healthcare provider can best explain the possible complications or side effects. That's because they tin consider your specific circumstances, including other health conditions, medications you have and more.

How to take care of myself?

If your healthcare provider diagnoses yous with hypotension, they may do the following:

Advise you to change your diet. Increasing your table salt intake tin often aid increase your blood pressure.
Teach you how to recognize and react to symptoms. A key fashion to help you avoid issues with hypotension is recognizing information technology. Your provider tin aid you recognize what low blood pressure feels like and how to react.

How before long later treatment will I feel improve?

Depending on the cause of your hypotension, you may feel better as you receive treatment. In some cases, it may take longer — days or even weeks — for medication or other treatments to aid yous feel meliorate consistently.

Prevention

How can I reduce my risk of developing this or preclude it entirely?

It's usually not possible to reduce your risk of or prevent hypotension. The merely exception is fugitive circumstances or deportment that can lead to it, such as taking recreational drugs or supplements/herbal remedies that can lower your claret pressure.

Outlook / Prognosis

What can I wait if I have this condition?

If you accept hypotension, what you tin await depends on what causes information technology and if you lot have symptoms. If you don't have symptoms, it's unlikely that hypotension volition be a problem for you.

If yous have symptoms, hypotension can interfere with your ability to stand up up, care for yourself, cook, drive and do many other activities. That'southward why understanding the status and following a healthcare provider'southward guidance are so of import to minimizing this condition'southward impact on your life.

How long does hypotension last?

How long this status lasts depends very much on what caused it. If you have hypotension considering of normal aging, it will probably be a lifelong concern.

What'south the outlook for hypotension?

If you accept low claret pressure but don't have symptoms, this condition unremarkably isn't harmful and shouldn't impact your life.

If you practise take symptoms, the underlying cause is normally what determines the outlook for this condition. Your healthcare provider is the all-time person to tell you what to await from this condition and what you tin can do to manage those furnishings.

Complications that can happen considering of hypotension include:

Falls and fall-related injury. These are the biggest gamble with hypotension because it can cause dizziness and fainting. Falls can atomic number 82 to cleaved bones, concussions and other serious or even life-threatening injuries. If you lot have hypotension, preventing falls should be i of your biggest priorities.
Shock. When your blood pressure is low, that can affect your organs by reducing the amount of blood they get. That can cause organ impairment or even shock (where your body starts to shut down because of limited blood flow and oxygen).
Center problems or stroke. Depression claret pressure can cause your middle to try to compensate by pumping faster or harder. Over time, that can cause permanent center damage and even center failure. It can too crusade bug similar deep vein thrombosis and stroke because blood isn't flowing like it should, causing clots to grade.

Living With

How do I take care of myself?

If you have hypotension with symptoms, the best thing you tin can do is follow your healthcare provider's guidance on managing this condition. Their recommendations may include whatsoever of the following:

Manage your nutrition. Following diet recommendations, especially how much common salt you should have in your diet, tin assistance avoid symptoms of hypotension.
Take your medication. These can help yous avoid the disruptive symptoms and effects of this status.
Dress up. Compression socks, which put light pressure on your legs and anxiety, can button blood upwardly and raise your blood force per unit area.
Have it slow. Avert standing upwardly as well quickly, especially with orthostatic hypotension. That tin help yous avoid the dizziness and fainting effects of hypotension.
Have a seat. If y'all notice yourself feeling dizzy or lightheaded, sit down. Falling from standing height tin can put you at risk for severe or even catastrophic injuries from a autumn, such as a broken hip, concussion, skull fracture or broken ribs.

When should I telephone call or run into my healthcare provider?

If you know you accept hypotension, you should see your healthcare provider if yous start to find symptoms affecting your life or disrupting your usual routine and activities. If y'all don't know you lot have hypotension, you should see a healthcare provider if you take repeated dizziness or fainting episodes. This is especially of import because those symptoms are possible with many other health weather condition, some dangerous.

When should I go to ER?

If you have hypotension, yous should go to the infirmary for the post-obit:

Breast pain (angina).
If you lot pass out or faint.
If yous fall because of lightheadedness and hit your head (specially if y'all're taking any claret-thinning medications). You should also go to the hospital if you hurt yourself because of a fall from passing out.
If you take any symptoms of stupor, such equally feeling cold, sweaty, breathing fast, or you take a fast heart rate. You may too have a blue tint to the peel of your lips or under your fingernails.

A notation from Cleveland Dispensary

Hypotension is a condition that can take no symptoms, and many people don't even know they have it. For others, it can cause symptoms that are unpleasant and even disruptive to your daily life and activities. If you lot doubtable you have it, getting it diagnosed and treated is essential and can assistance you avoid falls and other complications. Fortunately, this condition is often treatable, and there are many things your healthcare provider tin explain to you lot that can aid you intendance for yourself.

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Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21156-low-blood-pressure-hypotension