Lower Blood Pressure

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

Labels: blood-pressure-treatment, low-blood-pressure

I often wonder about the validity of some of the claims for alternative blood pressure treatments. I've experimented myself with salt restriction and even with adding flax seed oil to my diet - with good initial results - but, like all else in life, it can be hard to stick at it.

I read in a press cutting yesterday about the claims for cider vinegar and blood pressure reduction. The evidence does seem reasonably good so - here we go - I plan to give it a try.

I'll use my blood pressure monitor to keep tabs on things and feed back on how things develop.
Watch this space.

Labels: blood-pressure-monitor, blood-pressure-treatment, cider-vinegar, treatment

Bloodr is new online software for monitoring Blood Pressure, Pulse and Weight. Using a simple interface you can record and analyse your data.

Bloodr allows you to produce professional reports and charts to supply to your health care professional as and when needed. The great thing about bloodr is that unlike other monitoring software, you can access and add your details from any internet connected computer anywhere in the world.

If you already home monitor it can be easy to loose motivation to take and log regular readings, and those handwritten notes can easily go astray. Bloodr is simple to use and enables you to add a reading any time you need to, thus calculating daily averages and plotting charts for you.

Unlike spreadsheet software, Bloodr lets you print your data and charts with ease. Doctors appreciate the clarity of the information provided giving them an accurate visual representation of your blood pressure.

Bloodr also lets you record your weight, which can be extremely useful if your Doctor has advised to you to loose weight to help combat hypertension. Weight charts and reports are also available to view and print.

Bloodr is in its early stages of development and further functionality will be added regularly as required. The news section of the Bloodr site will keep you posted with site changes and bloodr also has a blog for relevant information/news articles. Sign up for bloodr here for free.

Labels: blood-pressure-software, treatment