What Is Low Blood Pressure And What To Do With It

Low blood pressure is an affliction that occurs in your body when the blood pressure in the arteries are abnormally low. Generally, if the pressure is sightly low, there is nothing to worry about. But if the blood pressure drops too much, then it can lead to dizziness, blurred vision, heart palpitations (meaning your heartbeats become more noticeable and/or irregular all of a sudden) and general weakness of the body [1].

Read on below to get to know more about low blood pressure, what causes this to happen, and how to react in the situation when you get low blood pressure.

What is Low Blood Pressure?
Low blood pressure, which is also known as hypotension, occurs when the volume of blood is low through the arteries.

We know that the heart pumps blood in a constant supply throughout the body. The way to measure blood pressure is to measure the force of the blood on the walls of the arteries as the blood flows through them.

The normal rate of blood pressure in a human body is generally depicted between 90/60 and 140/90. Having a rating that is higher than 140/90 means you have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. If your blood pressure reading is under the 90/60 rating, then it is usually regarded as having low blood pressure.

Chronic low blood pressure may be an indication of heart problems, endocrine (hormonal) problems, lack of nutrients, and other health conditions. In general, low blood pressure can prevent enough oxygen to be delivered to all parts of the body.

 Causes
There is no single cause for low blood pressure. Rather, the causes behind low blood pressure vary, starting from choices made in your lifestyle, any underlying health conditions, or even a side effect from medications you take. It can also be hereditary.

Your blood pressure can vary at different times during the day, depending on what you do. The amount of stress you handle, whether you are sitting or standing, or even the temperature can affect your blood pressure. However, there are some definite situations that affects to causing low blood pressure, such as:

1. Daily Situations
Depending on the time of the day, you can be affected by low blood pressure. The rate of the blood pressure usually gets lower overnight when you are sleeping, and starts to rise higher during the day, with the highest peak reaching around midday.

Blood pressure is also attached to your stress levels. The more stressed you are, the higher you blood pressure rate will be. On the other hand, the more relaxed your body is, the lower the blood pressure becomes.

If you are in the habit of exercising regularly, then the blood pressure gets low and stays low during your resting period. Even the temperature can lower your blood pressure since warmer temperature can lead to having a low blood pressure.

2. Genetic Conditions
Low blood pressure can be hereditary. There has been some studies that showed that if the parents had low blood pressure, sometimes it might be inherited by the child.

3. Medical Conditions
There are some medicines that can lead to having low blood pressure. For example, medicines prescribed for heart problems, medicines prescribed for people with high blood pressure to lower it, diuretics (water tablets), antidepressants etc.

Dehydration can also cause low blood pressure. Excessive sweating in hot weather, vomiting or diarrhea are all valid causes of dehydration.

Heart conditions, anemia, neurological disorders, serious injuries shock, these all may cause a person to have low blood pressure.

What To Do If You Have Low Blood Pressure
If you feel any symptoms of low blood pressure, the following tips might help you recover and give you an easier time to cope.

1. Stand up slowly/gradually
Standing up slowly/gradually, avoiding standing for long periods of time, limiting alcohol intake, refraining from caffeine at night time, and eating small portions of food throughout the day can help with reducing low blood pressure symptoms.

2. Stay Hydrated
Since dehydration is a cause of low of blood pressure, take more fluids and salts. More intake of fluids leads to more volume of blood in your body, thereby reducing chances of low blood pressure.

3. Change medications
Changing medications that give the body a side effect of low blood pressure and treating underlying medical health conditions will also help with the treatment of low blood pressure.

Usually, the causes of low blood pressure can be treated manually by the above-mentioned tips. However, if the case is severe, medications might be necessary. The medicines are meant to meant to increase your blood pressure through a smaller space in the artery by either expanding the volume of blood in your bodies or making your arteries narrower. Medicines should always be confirmed and checked first by your doctor before taking them.

Reference
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Blood-pressure-(low)/Pages/Introduction.aspx