What Is Low Blood Pressure ?
Hypotension is the condition of severely low blood pressure which can be risky for the individual. It happens when the pressure which blood exerts on the blood vessels is extremely low, because the blood has become very thin and the oxygen supply to every organ of the body has slowed down.
What Are The Symptoms Of Low Blood Pressure ?
There are a number of symptoms which might be signaling at the state of hypotension in an individual. The subject might experience a blurred vision as is the case when a person hallucinates. Their skin might also go pale and clammy. The body temperature drops excessively, especially near the hands and toes. A state of hypotension has a strong impact on brain functioning because it is unable to receive a proper supply of oxygen. The individual is driven into a state of confusion and may also become dizzy. In severe cases, fainting may also occur. The subject may also start panting and losing breath and their heart could start pounding hard. A condition of fatigue might take over and he may suffer an inability to concentrate on one thing. Lightheadedness and weakness are also signs which may direct at a state of hypotension. In case a shock takes place, the patient might experience one of these things and then become unconscious.
What Causes Low Blood Pressure ?
There are several factors which cause the blood pressure to decrease. That mainly happens when the arteries dilate or the blood thickens, hence its speed of flow also slows down. Low blood pressure occurs when the blood supply to a certain part of the body is suddenly faltered to a good level. While it is mostly not as serious as a high blood pressure, in acute cases, it can also become a serious problem because the heart or the brain may stop receiving sufficient oxygen supply. The body position plays an essential role in causing a low blood pressure. Often, if an individual rises up from a lying position or stand still for long, hid blood pressure may drop down. This is because due to prolonged stagnancy, the heart beat becomes very steady and the blood flow becomes steadily stagnant as well though it keeps running. In situations of stress, there can be some hormones which cause the blood pressure to decrease instead of increase. Certain medications can also cause the blood pressure to decrease excessively by causing the blood vessels to dilate or changing the composition of blood accordingly. Dehydration is another important factor because the body fluids are being lost faster than they can be replaced and the blood pressure falls. Hypoglycemia, which is a condition of a low glucose level, can again make the blood pressure very low. There are stages in pregnancy among women when their blood vessels dilate and they often experience a very low blood pressure but this is just a consequence and not something alarming.
There are several health issues attributing to a condition of hypotension. One of them is a state of vertigo when the brain stops functioning properly and, as a result, the individual cannot perform the action registered by the brain as in the individual might want to move his hand but cannot perform the action. This can also lead to fainting.
How Is Low Blood Pressure Diagnosis ?
Testing is done to identify the causal health condition that has lead to low blood pressure. By this, a right treatment plan can be prepared, thus, for the diagnosis, a particular or more of the below mentioned tests can be suggested:
- Blood pressure test.
- Blood test.
- ECG.
- Echocardiogram.
- Stress test.
- Valsalva maneuver.
- Tilt table test.
How Is Low Blood Pressure Treatment ?
Changes in lifestyle are extremely essential to fix a health issue or to prevent it and unless certain routine adjustments are made, the medicinal drugs cannot be expected to have a substantial impact. As far as hypotension is concerned, increasing water intake and decreasing alcohol helps very much. This is because alcohol is dehydrating and decreases blood pressure. Water, on the other hand hydrates the body and increases blood volume. A balanced diet is another factor imperative to maintaining good health in numerous aspects. Fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish and grains should be incorporated which provide a healthy combination nutrients. Changing body positions in a slow pace also helps avoiding a sudden state of low blood pressure. A deep breath before getting out of bed and getting up slowly helps combat the effects of blood pressure and keeping it on a balance.
The blood pressure may drop drastically after heavy meals, hence, having small portions causes to abate that problem. Doctors also often recommend caffeinated drinks such as coffee or tea because they can give a boost to low blood pressure. However, it is always preferable to consult the doctor before adopting anything such as caffeinated drinks or increased salt in diet because they may lead to other problems. In the state of hypotension, certain amendments in the lifestyle may substantially help in regulating the blood pressure.
Apart from lifestyle changes, there are certain drugs useful in overcoming hypotension. An increased used of salt helps in overcoming persistent hypotension occurrences. Since dehydration is one major cause of a low blood pressure, the doctor might advise the patient to increase his water intake to improve his condition. Wearing compression stockings are another way of getting over a low blood pressure because the blood stops pooling in the legs. Fludrocortisone is a drug that helps boost the volume of blood and enhances blood pressure. Another drug is midodrine which also increases the blood pressure levels and helps patients get over hypotension. It restricts the blood vessels from expanding and this way the blood pressure increases.
By : Natural Health News
