What Reading Indicates Low Blood Pressure?

Hypotension is the clinical term for low blood pressure (less than 90/60).

A reading of blood pressure appears as two numbers. The first and higher of the two is a way of measuring systolic pressure, or the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats and fills them with blood. The second number tells how much pressure is in the arteries when the heart is at rest between beats.

Optimal blood pressure is less than 120/80 (systolic/diastolic). Low blood pressure without any symptoms is usually not a problem and doesn’t need to be treated in healthy people. But low blood pressure can be a sign of a deeper problem, especially in older people. This can cause the heart, brain, and other important organs to get too little blood.

Please learn here how to use a glucometer at home.

How low blood pressure is indicated?

Whats low blood pressure numbers receive millions of searches every month. This will cover everything you need to know about what readings indicate a low blood pressure. Measuring blood pressure involves two numbers, top and bottom, in mm/Hg.

Systolic (top number)

The pressure on your arteries when your heart beats is your systolic pressure. A health care provider inflates a cuff that squeezes your arm to find your systolic blood pressure. At the same time, they listen to your pulse at a spot below the cuff. When they can’t hear your heartbeat because the pressure from the cuff is stronger than the pressure from your heart pumping, that’s your systolic pressure.

Diastolic (bottom number)

This is the amount of pressure in your arteries between heartbeats. While the cuff is being deflated, the provider will keep listening to your heartbeat to figure out your diastolic blood pressure. As the cuff deflates, the number at which they can hear your heartbeat again is your diastolic pressure.

Due to changes in technology, many modern devices can automatically measure your blood pressure. Instead of using a stethoscope, which has been the standard way to measure blood pressure for a long time, these devices are now recommended. You may be wondering how low is low blood pressure for these devices. A 90/60 blood pressure is considered low regardless of the devices.

Types of Hypotension

Orthostatic hypotension (Postural Hypotension)

This is when your blood pressure drops quickly when you get up from sitting or lying down. Causes include not drinking enough water, staying in bed for a long time, pregnancy, some medical conditions, and some medications. Older people often have this kind of low blood pressure.

Postprandial hypotension

This drop in blood pressure happens about an hour to two hours after a meal. Most likely to get it are older adults, especially those with high blood pressure or diseases of the autonomic nervous system like Parkinson’s. Eating small meals with few carbs, drinking more water, and staying away from alcohol could help reduce symptoms.

Neurally Mediated Hypotension:

This is a drop in blood pressure that happens when you stand for a long time. Most young adults and children have this kind of low blood pressure. It could happen when the heart and brain don’t communicate with each other well. In some instances it can fall as low as 98 60 blood pressure.

Multiple System atrophy with Orthostatic hypotension

There is damage to more than one system. This rare disorder, which is also called Shy-Drager syndrome, affects the nervous system, which is in charge of things like blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and digestion. It is linked to having very high blood pressure when lying down.

For all hypotension related issues, it is advised to connect with the best medical clinic that provides Primary Care services.

Who does hypotension affect?

Depending on the cause, hypotension can happen to people of any age or background. But older people are more likely to get sick from it (especially orthostatic hypotension). It can also happen to people with no symptoms if they are very active, which is more likely to happen to younger people.

How often does hypotension happen?

Since most people with low blood pressure don’t have any symptoms, it’s impossible to know how many people really have it. But it seems that orthostatic hypertension happens to more and more people as they age. About 5% of people have it at age 50, but more than 30% of people over age 70 have it. Low blood pressure reading is roundabout the same regardless of the gender. 90/60 blood pressure female is considered low as well.

How does hypotension affect your body?

Under normal conditions, your body can keep your blood pressure from dropping too much and control it on its own. If it starts to go down, your body tries to make up for it by either making your heart beat faster or making your blood vessels narrower. Hypotension symptoms show up when your body can’t make enough changes to make up for the drop in blood pressure.

Many people don’t feel anything when their blood pressure is too low. Many people don’t even know they have low blood pressure until they get it checked.

For people who are having symptoms, the effects depend on what is causing hypotension, how fast it is getting worse, and what caused it in the first place. But what is considered too low blood pressure in the first place? If blood pressure falls below 90/60- it is critically low and the person requires immediate medical attention.

Normal blood pressure drops slowly over time, so hypotension is more common as people age. When your blood pressure drops quickly, it could mean that some parts of your body aren’t getting enough blood. That can turn fatal in no time.

Symptoms of hypotension

Most of the time, the main cause of low blood pressure is that your brain doesn’t get enough blood. Common Symptoms are

• Feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
• Fainting or blacking out (syncope).
• Illness or throwing up.
• Vision that is blurred or distorted.
• Breathing quickly and shallowly.
• Weakness or lack of energy.
• Feeling tired, slow, or uninterested.
• Confused or unable to pay attention.
• Agitation or other unusual changes in behavior (a person not acting like themselves)

What causes low blood pressure?

Hypotension can be caused by many different things. You don’t have to just rely on low blood pressure numbers. This is your guide to understand what causes low blood pressure so you never have to ask someone what readings indicate a low blood pressure.

1. Orthostatic hypotension

This happens when you get up too quickly and your body can’t send more blood to your brain to make up for it.

2. Central nervous system disease

Diseases like Parkinson’s disease can make it hard for your nervous system to keep your blood pressure in check. People who have hypotension because of these conditions may feel the effects of low blood pressure after eating because their digestive system uses more blood when it works to digest food.

3. Low blood volume

If you lose a lot of blood from a serious injury, your blood pressure can go down. Low blood volume can also be caused by not drinking enough water.

4. Conditions that are life threatening

Some of these conditions are arrhythmias, pulmonary embolisms, heart attacks, and collapsed lungs. Hypotension can also be caused by life-threatening allergic reactions (such as anaphylaxis) or immune reactions to severe infections (such as sepsis).

5. Problems with the heart and lungs

Hypotension can happen if your heart beats too fast or too slow, or if your lungs aren’t working as they should.

6. Prescription Drugs

Hypotension can happen when you take medicines for high blood pressure, heart failure, erectile dysfunction, neurological problems, depression, and more.

7. Excessive use of Alcohol and recreational drugs

Excessive use of Alcohol and recreational drugs can lower your blood pressure, but alcohol’s effect only lasts for a short time, and drinking too much overtime can lead to high blood pressure.

8. Pregnancy

During the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, you can have low blood pressure when you stand up. Low blood pressure can also be caused by bleeding or other problems that can happen during pregnancy.

How do you treat hypertension?

Usually, the first step in treating low blood pressure is to figure out why it’s happening. If the cause can be treated directly, low blood pressure usually goes away on its own. This is shown by low blood pressure caused by an injury and loss of blood. Hypotension will stop as long as the injury is fixed and the lost blood is replaced (for example, with a blood transfusion).

If you take medicines that change your blood pressure, your doctor may change the amount you take or tell you to stop taking those medicines altogether. Even if you don’t know what caused it, you can still treat it directly.

What kinds of medicines and treatments are used?

Most of the time, there are three ways to treat low blood pressure directly.

• Increasing blood volume: This method, which is also called “fluid resuscitation,” involves giving you fluids through an IV. Fluids given through an IV, plasma, or blood transfusions are all examples of this.
• Constricting Blood Vessels: There are medicines that make your blood vessels relax, which lowers your blood pressure. But there are also medicines that do the opposite.
• Change how your body handles fluids. Your kidneys are in charge of making sure your body has the right amount of water. Some medicines can make your kidneys hold on to water and salt, which can help you lower blood pressure.

However, make sure that you do not take medicines without a prescription. AZZ medical associates are here for your assistance feel free to reach out to us today.