Blood Pressure Equipment - How To Choose A Blood Pressure Monitor
Too Low Blood Pressure?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Low Blood Pressure? Have you got too low a blood pressure for your health?
I get many emails on the subject of low blood pressure. There seem to be many sites out there on the web that deal well with topics related to high blood pressure or hypertension but it's much harder to get good quality information about the signs and symptoms of low blood pressure. It can even be difficult to pind down facts on the symptoms of high blood pressure !
Low blood pressure is a common problem and the symptoms can vary from being mild and inconvenient to severe and disabling.
So - what is a low blood pressure?
Well, if 1000 people had their BP measured we might expect to find a spread of readings ranging from as high as 200 / 120 down to as low as 80 / 50 with most people clustering around the middle of the range at around 130 / 85. The vast majority of these people would have no symptoms of any kind – no matter what their BP reading actually was.
If you have always have low BP readings of around 90 / 50 (or even lower perhaps) for the whole of your life then without doubt you have low blood pressure but there is nothing wrong with you or with your low BP reading. You should be pleased that your risk of stroke or other disease will be much less than many others in the population and it is very unlikely indeed that you will experience any symptoms. Your level is normal for you and needs no investigation or treatment. I call this "normal low blood pressure" - in other words that level of blood pressure is simply normal for you and nothing to be worried about.
If your BP is usually around 130 / 80 and suddenly or gradually drops to a level around 90 / 50 then it is very likely that you will become aware of hypotension symptoms related to this change. As in the above example you have low blood pressure but in this instance it is not normal for you to have readings this low. You may need to see your doctor for tests because it is quite likely that some other disease or perhaps a medication has caused your BP to drop.
You should seek medical advice for this.
You can read a lot more about low blood pressure symptoms and possibilities for low blood pressure treatment by following these links
I get many emails on the subject of low blood pressure. There seem to be many sites out there on the web that deal well with topics related to high blood pressure or hypertension but it's much harder to get good quality information about the signs and symptoms of low blood pressure. It can even be difficult to pind down facts on the symptoms of high blood pressure !
Low blood pressure is a common problem and the symptoms can vary from being mild and inconvenient to severe and disabling.
So - what is a low blood pressure?
Well, if 1000 people had their BP measured we might expect to find a spread of readings ranging from as high as 200 / 120 down to as low as 80 / 50 with most people clustering around the middle of the range at around 130 / 85. The vast majority of these people would have no symptoms of any kind – no matter what their BP reading actually was.
If you have always have low BP readings of around 90 / 50 (or even lower perhaps) for the whole of your life then without doubt you have low blood pressure but there is nothing wrong with you or with your low BP reading. You should be pleased that your risk of stroke or other disease will be much less than many others in the population and it is very unlikely indeed that you will experience any symptoms. Your level is normal for you and needs no investigation or treatment. I call this "normal low blood pressure" - in other words that level of blood pressure is simply normal for you and nothing to be worried about.
If your BP is usually around 130 / 80 and suddenly or gradually drops to a level around 90 / 50 then it is very likely that you will become aware of hypotension symptoms related to this change. As in the above example you have low blood pressure but in this instance it is not normal for you to have readings this low. You may need to see your doctor for tests because it is quite likely that some other disease or perhaps a medication has caused your BP to drop.
You should seek medical advice for this.
You can read a lot more about low blood pressure symptoms and possibilities for low blood pressure treatment by following these links
