What Causes Low Blood Pressure?

When most of us talk about or hear about blood pressure it involves low blood pressure. Did you know that many people also experience low blood pressure? Despite what many people think, your blood pressure can be too low and low blood pressure is just as dangerous as high blood pressure.

A person with healthy blood pressure measurements is around 120/80. It doesn’t have to be right on the button, but measurements within a few points of these numbers is considered healthy. Blood pressure measurements over 140/90 are considered high, and this is what we normally hear about, but if you go too far below the 120/80 mark you go too low and that is dangerous, too.

Symptoms of Low Blood Pressure

Low blood pressure can be uncomfortable and down right dangerous. People with low blood pressure often experience the symptoms of it when they go from lying down to sitting or standing or even from sitting to standing. Of course, you don’t have to feel the symptoms just during these times, but these are the most common times. The symptoms of low blood pressure include but are not limited to:

• Light headedness
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Chest pain
• Heart attack
• Shock
• Death

Causes of Low Blood Pressure

• Dehydration. This is the most common cause of low blood pressure in otherwise healthy people. Simply re-hydrating is the best way to restore normal blood pressure measurements.
• Moderate or severe bleeding. When you bleed at moderate or severe levels your blood pressure will drop. This is because there is not a normal amount of blood in the body, decreasing the hearts ability to push blood through the body with a normal or healthy pressure.
• Inflammation of organs. Many times when the organs are inflamed the blood pressure will drop due to the depletion of blood on the blood vessels. This is commonly seen in pancreatitis as well as other health conditions where the internal organs are inflamed.

These are not the only causes of low blood pressure, but these are some of the most common outside of heart related problems such as weakened heart muscles. If you experience the symptoms of low blood pressure you should see your doctor immediately to be sure that you do not have a life threatening condition that has gone unchecked.