Low Blood Pressure

What is low blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs. Blood pressure is generated by the heart pumping blood into the arteries and is regulated by the response by the arteries to the flow of blood.
By convention, an individual's blood pressure is expressed as systolic/diastolic blood pressure, for example, 120/80.The systolic blood pressure (the top number) represents the pressure in the arteries as the muscle of the heart contracts and pumps blood into them. The diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) represents the pressure in the arteries as the muscle of the heart relaxes after it contracts. Blood pressure always is higher when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxing.
Systolic blood pressure for most healthy adults falls between 90 and 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Normal diastolic blood pressure falls between 60 and 80 mm Hg. Current guidelines define normal blood pressure as lower than 120/80. Blood pressures over 130/80 are considered high. High blood pressure increases the risk of developing heart disease, kidney disease, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis or arteriosclerosis), eye damage, and stroke.
Low blood pressure (hypotension) is pressure that is so low that it causes symptoms or signs due to the low flow of blood through the arteries and veins. When the flow of blood is too low to deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidney, the organs do not function normally and may be permanently damaged.
Unlike high blood pressure, low blood pressure is defined primarily by signs and symptoms of low blood flow not by a specific blood pressure number. Some individuals may have a blood pressure of 90/50 with no symptoms of low blood pressure and therefore do not have low blood pressure. However, others who normally have high blood pressure may develop symptoms of low blood pressure if their blood pressure drops to 100/60.

Is low blood pressure bad for your health?

People who have lower blood pressures have a lower risk of stroke, kidney disease, and heart disease. Athletes, people who exercise regularly, people who maintain ideal body weight, and non-smokers tend to have lower blood pressures. Therefore, low blood pressure is desirable as long as it is not low enough to cause symptoms and damage organs in the body.

What are low blood pressure signs and symptoms?

When the blood pressure is not sufficient to deliver enough blood to the organs of the body, the organs do not work properly and may be permanently damaged. For example, if insufficient blood flows to the brain, brain cells do not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, and a person can feel lightheaded, dizzy, or even faint. Going from a sitting or lying position to a standing position often brings out symptoms of low blood pressure. This occurs because standing causes blood to "settle" in the veins of the lower body, and this can lower the blood pressure. If the blood pressure is already low, standing can make the low pressure worse, to the point of causing symptoms. The development of lightheadedness, dizziness, or fainting upon standing caused by low blood pressure is called orthostatic hypotension. Normal individuals are able to compensate rapidly for the low pressure created by standing with the responses discussed previously and do not develop orthostatic hypotension.
When there is insufficient blood pressure to deliver blood to the coronary arteries (the arteries that supply blood to the heart's muscle), a person can develop chest pain (angina) or even a heart attack. When insufficient blood is delivered to the kidneys, the kidneys fail to eliminate wastes from the body, for example, urea and creatinine, and an increase in their levels in the blood occur (for example, elevations of blood urea nitrogen or BUN and serum creatinine, respectively).
Shock is a life-threatening condition where persistently low blood pressure causes organs such as kidney(s), liver, heart, lung, and brain to fail rapidly.

http://www.medicinenet.com/low_blood_pressure/article.htm

Aku nak kena p chek dengan doktor ni. Hari tu masa aku tak sihat, doktor chek tekanan darah. Then die cakap aku low blood presure. Simptom yang aku alami seperti rasa cam nak pitam, kepala pening, kadang2 badan rasa cam panas seram sejuk. Same la kat artikel tu. Malam ni or esok kena p jumpa doktor.huhuhu... Dah cakap dengan hubby. Hubby pon suh p klinik.