Low Blood Pressure

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Low blood pressure is also called hypotension. It takes place when blood pressure during and after the heartbeat is lower than the usual pressure. It directly means that the organs like heart, brain, etc. are not getting enough blood. We all know that the normal blood pressure ranges from 90/60 to 130/80 mm Hg. But a drastic drop, which is smaller than 20 mm Hg, can cause problems.

Types of Low Blood Pressure

There are three main types of low blood pressure taking place in the body. They are as below:

Orthostatic hypotension
Neurally mediated hypotension
Severe hypotension

Orthostatic hypotension can take place due to a sudden change in body position. It happens when shifting from lying down to standing. This hypotension lasts only a few seconds or minutes. When it happens after taking a meal, it is known as postprandial orthostatic hypotension. This form commonly affects older adults, and persons with Parkinson's disease.

NMH normally takes place in young adults and children. It occurs when one has been standing for a long time.

Symptoms of Low Blood Pressure

Blurry vision
Weakness
Dizziness
Fainting
Confusion
Light-headedness
Sleepiness

Causes of Low Blood Pressure

There are many causes that can lead to low blood pressure. These are as follows:

Dehydration

This is known to be the common cause of low blood pressure. Patients with prolonged nausea, and vomiting or diarrhea can suffer from low blood pressure.
As we know, large amount of water is removed from the body due to vomiting and with diarrhea. When one does not replace it by drinking adequate amounts of fluid, it causes dehydration.
Extended and severe dehydration can result into shock, kidney failure, confusion, acidosis, coma, and even death due to low blood pressure.

Moderate or Severe Bleeding

This can deplete an individual's blood, leading to low blood pressure. It is also known as orthostatic hypotension.
This bleeding can take place due to trauma, surgical complications, or other gastrointestinal abnormalities like ulcers, tumors, etc.
This can result into shock and death rapidly

Severe Inflammation of Organs inside the Body

This is also known as acute pancreatitis which can cause low blood pressure
In this case, fluid leaves the blood vessels and enters the inflamed tissues present around the pancreas, abdominal cavity, concentrating blood leading to low blood pressure.

Weakened Heart Muscle

This can also cause the heart to fail or reduce the amount of blood it pumps
Cause of this weakened heart muscle is due to the death of a large portion of the heart's muscle which takes place during heart attack or heart attacks.
Other examples of this include weakening of the ability of the heart to pump blood.

Pericarditis

This condition causes fluid to accumulate within the pericardium and as a result compress the heart, restricting the ability of the heart to pump the blood causing low blood pressure.

Pulmonary Embolism

In this condition, blood clotted in a vein breaks off and moves towards the heart and lungs.
A large blood clot blocks the flow of blood leading to low blood pressure or a life-threatening emergency.

Along with this, a slow heart rate, sick sinus syndrome, heart block, drug toxicity, septicemia, anaphylaxis, etc. can also cause low blood pressure.

Treatment of Low Blood Pressure

Hypotension in a healthy person does not lead to any complications; hence, there is no requirement of treatment. Other patient’s treatment depends on the cause of low blood pressure.

If one has orthostatic hypotension due to drugs, consulting a doctor may solve this problem by changing the dose or switch to a different drug. Other treatments include increasing the consumption of fluid content and also wearing elastic hose to improve blood pressure.

In this way, low blood pressure can be treated and maintained properly.