What blood pressure can we consider low? In what causes low pressure and is it dangerous? So, today we will look at low blood pressure and related issues.
The lower limit of normal blood pressure for men is 100/60 mm Hg. Art., for women, 95/65 mm Hg. Art. It is also true that low pressure should be considered any pressure less than normal by 20% – the norm for this particular patient, i.e. pressure at which he is comfortable (in this case, we are not talking about the fact that if the patient has adapted to high numbers of blood pressure, then it does not need to be adjusted).
However, some patients do not feel their pressure. And this is a problem because those who adapt to their pressure rarely go to the doctor. In any case, low blood pressure – hypotension – cannot be considered in isolation from high blood pressure, because problems with low blood pressure in youth often lead to hypertension in adulthood and again to reduced pressure in the elderly and senile. Low blood pressure is quite a serious problem at any age, let’s look in more detail why.
Is low pressure dangerous?
Why do doctors sound the alarm when they learn about the patient’s low blood pressure? Perhaps everyone knows that high blood pressure can lead to stroke and myocardial infarction. But in this case, can low pressure be considered completely safe? Not at all, low pressure is dangerous.
Low pressure leads to poor blood supply to the brain, and therefore receives little oxygen, which can lead to ischemic stroke. For elderly patients, this is especially dangerous, because even physiological hypotension during sleep can cause a violation of the blood supply in certain parts of the brain that are responsible for hearing and vision, which can cause deafness and decreased vision.
Diseases such as heart defects, cardiosclerosis, angina pectoris in conditions of hypotension progress much faster, since coronary arteries (arteries that feed the heart) in a state of hypotension cannot provide sufficient blood flow to the heart muscle.
Hypotension is especially dangerous for pregnant women, because due to hypotension, the fetal organs receive less nutrients and oxygen through the placental circulation from the mother. In this regard, the baby at birth can be diagnosed with congenital malformations. Hypotension is also dangerous, because it can cause premature birth and miscarriage.
What are the symptoms of low blood pressure?
Symptoms of arterial hypotension are associated with the fact that the blood supply to the brain and heart is not enough for normal functioning.
Symptoms associated with a lack of blood supply to the brain:
- A headache that is pulsating in nature may be dull, localized in the temples, forehead, and occurs after physical or mental strain
- Dizziness
- Irritability, weakness, fatigue
- Decreased memory, attention
Symptoms that are associated with a lack of blood supply to the heart:
- Heartbeat
- Pain in the heart, in contrast to angina, pain in the heart can last more than half an hour
Gastric and intestinal symptoms are central, associated with atony or spastic muscle contraction:
- Constipation or intestinal colic
- Nausea, vomiting
- Belching after eating, bloating
As we see, the symptoms of hypotension are quite diverse, and if you have hypotension, then before you make sure that all the symptoms are associated with hypotension, you need to conduct a detailed examination of the cardiovascular system, large arteries and veins of the head, exclude endocrine pathology , diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
It is necessary to make an electrocardiogram, an ultrasound scan of the heart, pass the thyroid hormones, examine the brachiocephalic vessels (large arteries and veins of the head), rule out intestinal diseases, etc.
What are the causes of low pressure?
There are many reasons for low blood pressure. Let’s talk about the types of arterial hypotension due to the reasons why it happens. It is acute (due to myocardial infarction, sudden attacks of arrhythmia, pulmonary thromboembolism, which also occurs with traumatic shock, bleeding, acute peritonitis).
And chronic , which is divided into:
- physiological (hypotension of athletes, people of physical labor, whose body has adapted to physical activity to economical use of oxygen);
- primary (resulting from stress, mental or physical stress)
- secondary , which is a symptom of various diseases, hypotension in this case complicates their course.
Secondary arterial hypotension accounts for a significant portion of arterial hypotension. A sufficiently large number of diseases leads to secondary arterial hypotension:
- skull injuries with brain damage;
- osteochondrosis and injuries of the spine, especially vertebral arteries;
- cirrhosis of the liver;
- anemia, especially in acute blood loss;
- decreased thyroid function;
- hypoglycemia;
- acute intoxication with infectious diseases;
- any acute conditions: anaphylactic shock, fluid loss during vomiting, etc.
It is also important to note that blood pressure is controlled by the hypothalamic-pituitary system . Only with the coordinated actions of this system, the vessels respond to nerve impulses coming from the brain by contraction. If the balance of regulation is impaired, the vessels remain dilated, and in the adrenal glands an insufficient amount of aldosterone is produced that can increase pressure.
In order to establish primary or independent arterial hypotension, it is necessary to examine the patient in detail, exclude thyroid pathology, anemia and other diseases, find out if the patient is involved in sports and hard physical work in order to exclude athletes hypotension. And, of course, it is necessary to inform the patient that in order to recover he needs to change his lifestyle, try to minimize stress and physical stress, which are the cause of primary arterial hypotension.
What should be done at low pressure and is it necessary to treat low pressure?
We have already said above about the dangers of low pressure, both in youth and in adulthood, in the elderly, and in old age. Therefore, the question of whether it is necessary to treat it, the answer is unequivocal “yes!”, It is simply necessary to treat low blood pressure.
If we found out that low blood pressure is not a consequence of some kind of disease, then the first thing to think about is that you need to change your lifestyle, avoid physical and nervous stress. The second thing that can help a person with low pressure is massage, swimming, walking in the fresh air, in other words, non-drug methods of treating low pressure. If there is no effect from this, then only you need to think about the use of drugs.
And first, you need to try herbal medicines, such as tincture of Eleutherococcus , ginseng, Leuzea, Rhodiola, Ginko biloba. If these drugs do not give an effect, then you need to contact a neurologist who will prescribe a detailed examination, including EEG, ultrasound of brachiocephalic vessels, EchoEG, brain MRI, ECG and treatment. Treatment includes drugs such as Mexidol, Actovegin, Cerebrolysin, Vinpocetine, which must be administered intravenously for at least 10-14 days, then switch to oral forms of drugs: Mexidol, Mildronate, Cinnarizine, Cavinton, sedatives must also be used at night: Novo -Passit, Glycine, Eltacin – these drugs must be used for at least a month.
What do hypotonics need to know?
Hypotonic patients need to know that low blood pressure in youth can lead to hypertension in adulthood, the elderly and senile. If the patient is in adulthood, that is, at risk for angina pectoris, it is necessary to differentiate pain in the heart with angina pectoris and hypotension, in other words, autonomic syndrome. For this, it is important to remember that heart pain with hypotension is prolonged, with angina pectoris they last less than 15 minutes. In any case, if there is a suspicion of angina pectoris, it is necessary to have an ECG, which will reflect changes characteristic of myocardial ischemia. They can be both with angina and hypotension, but we do an ECG in order to exclude myocardial infarction.
The simplest remedy for hypotension is regular exercise. The effect of them can be seen already on the 7-10th day of active moderate training. It is important to note that during exercise, hypotensives begin dizziness. Fortunately, there are complexes of exercises with reduced pressure that can be performed while sitting and lying down.
A variety of diets, the addition of spices, which help to tolerate lower blood pressure easier, is a useful non-drug moment for hypotension. Such useful spices are cinnamon , cloves . Cinnamon is generally a very interesting spice, it is able to normalize both high and low pressure due to different mechanisms of action on the body.
Caffeinated drinks will also help to cope with the symptoms of low blood pressure when combined with stimulating plants, which, by the way, can be taken only until 4 pm to avoid insomnia. It is important to recall that ginseng cannot be used in late spring, summer and early autumn – i.e. in sunny periods – because of the possible risk of stimulation of cancer processes.
What should be done to avoid hypertension in the future?
In order to avoid hypertension in the future, hypotension must carefully monitor your health, normalize work and rest, walk in the fresh air, engage in swimming and other moderate physical activities, and also take medications, if necessary, under the supervision of a neurologist.