In this blog, we are going to discuss the various reasons for low blood pressure. Low blood pressure is also known as Hypotension (measuring less than 90/60) in medical terms. There could be many reasons for a low blood pressure that might occur at various age levels and might cause severe health issues. Low blood pressure might also result in a person being dizzy or even getting faint. Low blood pressure could also be life-threatening for some people as the brain does not get enough supply of blood.
Symptoms of Low Blood Pressure
Following are the symptoms of low blood pressure that might occur if a person feels like:
- Dizzy
- Breath shortness
- Blurred vision
- Lack of concentration
- Nausea
- fatigued
Reasons for a Low Blood Pressure
It is critical to know the reasons that are causing the low blood pressure so the patient could be treated immediately. The various reasons that can lead to low blood pressure are listed below.
- Pregnancy
- Heart Problems
- Endocrine issues
- Dehydration
- Blood Loss
- Infection
- Allergic Reaction
- Unhealthy Diet
- Elderly Age
- Medications
- Diabetes
- Postural Hypotension
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, the women often experience a drop in their blood pressure as their circulatory system expands than normal while carrying a baby. It is quite usual that the blood pressure gets lower than the normal during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. But it gets to normal just after the delivery.
Heart Problems
A person suffering from heart issues or any other cardiovascular disease is vulnerable to hypotension as the various heart-related issues like heart failures, extremely low heart rate, heart valve issues can also be a reason for low blood pressure. Moreover, the several medications that are used to treat heart diseases might be responsible for a drop in blood pressure.
Endocrine issues
Due to any complication in the endocrine system such as parathyroid diseases, adrenal insufficiency or an under or overactive thyroid gland, there is always a risk of fluctuation in the blood pressure. Therefore there is a chance of low blood pressure because of the insufficient secretions of the endocrine system.
Dehydration
Another important cause of low blood pressure is dehydration. Dehydration can be a result of overexertion, diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, fatigue, weakness or poor diet. There are some medications that can lead to dehydration if not taken with sufficient water.
Similarly, working in extreme climatic conditions can also cause a person to sweat more and cause dehydration. The dehydration leads to low blood pressure and the person might feel very lazy and tired.
Blood Loss
There might be low blood pressure because of a sudden blood loss. A person who just met an accident, or hit a car while crossing the road might result in severe blood loss leading to lower blood pressure as there is less blood available in the body to be supplied towards the heart. Similarly, while performing a critical surgery or during the delivery of a childbearing woman, there might occur a blood loss leading to extremely low blood pressure.
Infection
At times there are some infections of severe nature. They are called septic shock. These are types of infections in which a bacteria leaves the original site of infection and enters the bloodstream, thereby causing the toxins in the blood vessels. This might lead to severe blood loss which could be a reason for low blood pressure.
Allergic reactions
The allergic reactions can also cause chemical reactions such as the anaphylactic reactions in which the histamines released by the body as a chemical reaction causes the widening of the vessels. This widening of the vessels might cause a sudden drop in blood pressure.
Unhealthy Diet
One of the reasons for a person constantly facing low blood pressure is the lack of nutrients and unhealthy diet that is being consumed by them.
Those people, who are following some strict diet plans and believe in skipping the meals or missing some important nutrients from the diets, or even those who are undernourished, might often face the problem of low blood pressure. The deficiency of folate, iron, and vitamin B12 can be a reason for low blood pressure in most people.
Elderly Age
As people get old, there are more chances of higher blood pressure than low blood pressure. The reasons for low blood pressure in elderly people is mostly because of the genetic factor, or if they are taking any medications. The elderly population mostly suffers from orthostatic hypotension or if they are bedridden then they might get low blood pressure.
Medications
There are certain medicines, if not taken carefully and with proper meals might result in a drop in blood pressure. These medicines include diuretics, heart medicines such as beta-blockers, hypertension medicine and Parkinson’s medicine.
Diabetes
The nerve sensors in the arteries that monitor the blood pressure might not work effectively in a person suffering from diabetes and have poor diabetes control management. If a person’s blood sugar drops, there is a chance of lower blood pressure. This lower blood pressure will cause fatigue, shortness of breath and weakness in the person.
Postural Hypotension
One of the types of low blood pressure is called Postural hypotension. In this case, the blood pressure of a person drops suddenly if he stands up immediately after sitting or lying in a certain posture for long. This happens because gravity pulls the blood towards the legs and the heart rate increases in return.
There are various reasons for postural hypotension such as
- Dehydration
- Electrolyte loss
- Excessive blood flow in mensuration
- Alcoholism
- Nutritional Disease
- Various medicines
- Age-related cardiovascular diseases
- Hypertension medicines
Conclusion
In the above blog, we have discussed various reasons that can lead to low blood pressure or hypotension. There are various reasons that could be genetic or any other health-related issues that might result in low blood pressure. The sudden drop in blood pressure due to a shock or blood loss or any traumatic condition will cause the person to feel weakened and less energetic. Therefore the person should seek immediate medical attention in such conditions if the situation persists for long.
Frequently Asked Questions: Reasons for low Blood Pressure
What is the reason for low BP?
There are various reasons for low blood pressure such as fear, pain, anxiety, emotional trauma, dehydration and long exposures in extremely hot climates.
What should we do when BP is low?
Following are the steps that should be taken if there is low blood pressure:
Eat smaller meals
Drink plenty of water
Eating balanced diet
Getting Thyroid monitored
Monitoring the blood sugar regularly
Consume more salt
Limit the consumption of alcohol
Spending quality time with family
What should we eat when BP is low?
Drinking a lot of water
Consumption of green leafy vegetables
Eating proteins in the form of meat, poultry, eggs, milk and dairy products
Fruits, nuts, beans, cereals containing folates
Consumption of salt
Is Blood pressure 90/ 50 too low?
The normal blood pressure ranges from 90/50 to 120/90 mm Hg. The blood pressure that drops below 90/50 is considered low blood pressure in normal adults.
Does depression cause low blood pressure?
Depression is directly related to tension which causes lower blood pressure. The use of antidepressants however has been found to result in hypertension. Anxiety has been found to lead to hypertension.
Citation
betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/blood-pressure-low-hypotension
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2010). Hypotension. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hyp. Accessed March 21, 2016.
