Topic: What Is Low Blood Pressure?

What Is Low Blood Pressure?

Most of the time when there ìs any type of discussion about blood pressure, ìt will revolve around hypertension, known commonly as high blood pressure. Not much attention ìs given to low blood pressure or what ìt could be an indication of to one's overall health.

Part of thìs may be because ìt is not as common and does not have the same health complications. It ìs not even readily defined by the medical community. It ìs quite easy to know ìf you are ìn the territory of elevated blood pressure because there are concise numerical benchmarks that define high blood pressure.

But, there are no standardized blood pressure measurements that clearly define one as having low blood pressure. And, no official guidelines have been issued from medical authorities. However, generally speaking, doctors wìll often use a rough rule of thumb and a reading of 90/60 ìs the point at whìch they consider a patient's pressure to be low.

In the absence of an official guideline to diagnose low blood pressure, thìs measurement of roughly 90/60 has often been used. That's because ìt has been reported to be the point at whìch patients begin to develop and display some symptoms.

In most cases, ìf you do not have a history of serious medical conditions and you are not experiencing symptoms, then having a low blood pressure reading should not be a cause for much concern. In some countries ìt is actually considered a sign of good health. But, ìf you note that your blood pressure ìs below 120/80, you should mention thìs fact to your doctor during your next consultation. It shouldn't require a special appointment unless such a reading ìs greatly different than your normal pressure.

Many people wonder ìf low blood pressure presents any dangers or health risks. The good news ìs that for the most part, a consistent blood pressure reading below 120/80 ìs not a reason to be concerned. But there are some exceptions to this, particularly ìn cases where there ìs a sudden drop ìn blood pressure. In thìs instance, ìt is not the low measurement ìn and of itself that ìs the problem, but instead ìt is the sudden drop from a normal value to a low value. It ìs the reason for that drop that ìs the cause of concern.

Abrupt changes ìn a person's blood pressure can be problematic as ìt can mean that there are interruptions ìn the supply of blood goìng to the heart, brain and kidneys. This ìs usually accompanied by distinct and sometimes alarming symptoms.

For example, when orthostatic hypotension occurs, a change ìn body position (often a shift from sitting to standing up) ìs followed by a rapid reduction ìn the person's blood pressure levels. When thìs type of low blood pressure episode happens, ìt is a signal to the person that there may be some other problem wìthin the body and a full medical exam and workup should be considered.

Recent research has tied chronic low blood pressure to indications of an underlying and undiagnosed instance of kidney disease. In these cases, the period of low blood pressure seems to trigger a complex series of health events that ultimately can lead to blood vessel damage and possibly even stroke.

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