Symptoms of Low Blood Pressure & Ways to Deal with It

Blood pressure plays an important role in maintaining your health. Though, ideally a normal systolic pressure of 120 mm Hg and a diastolic pressure of 80 mm Hg is required, there are many people who suffer from a high blood pressure or a low blood pressure. While high blood pressure or Hypertension is a serious trouble, low blood pressure or Hypotension is not such a big issue.

Symptoms of Low Blood Pressure

Symptoms of Low Blood Pressure

As already mentioned, low blood pressure is not much of a concern for the doctors. If the condition is long-lasting, it may impart some serious effects on your health. Low blood pressure or hypotension is often mistaken as mere illness or dizziness. However, the factors which cause low blood pressure such as anaemia, blood loss, nutrient deficiency, dehydration, pregnancy, certain diseases and medications can be serious enough and might require immediate medical attention. It can also cause a blockage of oxygen supply in the brain and lead to serious problems.

Therefore, it is important that you identify the signs and symptoms of low blood pressure. These include –

If there is no sign of any of these symptoms, it is not a serious problem. Although, in most of the cases, these symptoms are felt when a person goes from the sitting position or from the lying position and comes to the standing position. If the blood pressure is too low, it can cause stroke, kidney failure and heart attacks.

Ways to Deal with Low Blood Pressure

Now that the causes and symptoms of low blood pressure have been known, it is important to know how to deal with low BP. Though mild low blood pressure without any signs and symptoms do not require any treatment, if they are serious, see a doctor and treat the problem. The mild and moderate conditions can be dealt with some simple lifestyle changes which help in stabilizing the low blood pressure condition. These include:

Stand up Slowly While Having Low Blood Pressure

The first thing that you must be careful about in order to avoid dizziness, head swings and spins is to stand up slowly from a seated or lying position. Cross your legs before you stand up from a chair or do some stretches, before you leave the bed in the morning. This will increase the blood circulation and help you not to feel dizzy as you stand up.

Do Not Stand for Long Time

Sometimes the cause of low blood pressure is miscommunication between the heart and the brain. Standing for long may aggravate this condition. Hence, if you do not stand for long period at a stretch, it might prevent this problem.

Increase Salt and Fluid Intake When Having Low Blood Pressure

Since dehydration is a common cause behind low blood pressure, this problem can often instantly be dealt with salt and fluid consumption. Fluid consumption increases the volume of blood, thereby increasing the blood pressure. However, increasing salt consumption must be discussed with your doctor. If you have chronic low blood pressure, the doctor would tell you exactly how much salt you must add to your diet. Sometimes, the salt requirement is so high that normal dietary salt isn’t enough. In that case, you must take salt tablets and your doctor would tell you exactly what you must be doing.

Check What You Eat and When

Your dietary portions, frequency of eating and also what you are eating or drinking plays a huge role in your blood pressure level. Eat more frequently but smaller meals. Stay away from drinking alcohol or caffeinated drinks, especially at night, as this might cause dehydration. On the other hand, lying down after eating or sitting still for some time after you have had your meal, may help you increase your blood pressure level.

Treat the Cause of Low Blood Pressure to Stabilize it

If a medical condition is the cause behind the low blood pressure level, you must treat the underlying condition to treat low blood pressure.

Take Medicines

The doctors might prescribe certain blood pressure increasing medicines such as midodrine. The mechanism of most of these drugs is to restrict the expansion ability of the blood vessels. Thus, the pressure of the blood on the walls of the blood vessels increases.

Wear Stockings

Stockings or tight clothes can also help in increasing the low blood pressure levels. Compression stockings that can be worn in the calf and thighs are available in the market widely. These help in concentrating the blood flow more in the upper body, by restricting its flow in the lower body.

Though all these home remedies or simple measure to deal with low blood pressure are quite useful, you must see a doctor before trying these out. The doctor would be able to recommend the right treatment plan for you.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:December 19, 2017

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