Subscribe
Hypotension
Causes of low blood pressure
There are many causes of hypotension, including nervous disorders due to lack of rest, excessive fatigue, and staying up late in some normal populations, which can cause hypotension. It can also be limited to some elderly and frail patients, or due to uncontrolled diet and insufficient provision of nutrients, leading to nutritional deficiencies and low blood volume causing hypotension. These hypotensions can be alleviated by adjusting lifestyle and supplementing nutrition. Hypotension is more commonly caused by certain diseases, such as infections, blood loss, heart failure, arrhythmias, and severe cardiomyopathy, which can lead to hypotension. This type of hypotension requires timely treatment and emergency intervention to save the patient's life.
Emergency treatment for low blood pressure
Low blood pressure can pose significant risks to the human body, especially when it is caused by severe or emergency conditions. It can lead to ischemia of vital organs and insufficient perfusion of peripheral blood vessels, seriously endangering life. In resuscitation, the first step is the application of vasoconstrictor drugs to promptly raise the blood pressure to a safe range. This is accompanied by replenishing blood volume to increase circulating blood and improve ischemia in peripheral tissues. Administration of oxygen ensures blood oxygen concentration to supply blood to vital organs, preventing ongoing damage to critical organs such as the brain, heart, and kidneys due to ischemia and hypoxia.
How to alleviate low blood pressure?
It is necessary to adjust regular living habits and provide high-nutrient foods and broths for the elderly, women during their menstrual period, pregnant women, or individuals experiencing low blood pressure due to excessive fatigue, lack of rest, staying up late, and poor nutrition, in order to manage their low blood pressure. Often, the use of medications is not necessary. For low blood pressure caused by diseases, it is appropriate to use medications that increase blood pressure or supplement blood volume while treating the primary disease, in order to change the low blood pressure condition.
What should people with low blood pressure not eat?
People with low blood pressure should be careful not to eat raw and cold foods in their diet. Instead, they should consume more warming, nourishing foods with high nutritional value and avoid foods that affect blood pressure, such as celery. Celery has a blood pressure-lowering effect, and regular consumption can decrease blood pressure. Those with low blood pressure should pay attention to adjusting their dietary structure, replenishing the calories needed by the body, and raising blood pressure. Regular consumption of lean meat, eggs, fish, shrimp, high-quality protein or some soy products, as well as fruits high in vitamins, can help increase blood pressure, improve overall blood supply, and protect vital organs.
What blood pressure is considered low blood pressure?
Systolic blood pressure lower than 90 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure lower than 60 mmHg are considered hypotension. Hypotension is divided into physiological hypotension and pathological hypotension. Physiological hypotension generally has no symptoms and does not require special treatment. Patients with pathological hypotension often experience symptoms such as dizziness, fainting, blurred vision, nausea, etc., and need to be treated according to the cause. Hypotension patients often have postural hypotension and postprandial hypotension. The normal blood pressure range for adult males and females of any age is systolic pressure between 90 to 139 mmHg and/or diastolic pressure between 60 to 89 mmHg.
The harm of low blood pressure
Low blood pressure can pose certain risks to the body, especially when it is persistently low, which may lead to insufficient blood supply to vital organs. The brain, particularly sensitive to ischemia and hypoxia, can suffer from inadequate blood supply due to prolonged low blood pressure, or even experience strokes. Low blood pressure can also lead to insufficient cardiac blood supply, causing ischemic heart disease. In particular, long-term low blood pressure can damage the kidneys, leading to renal failure and causing irreversible pathological changes. Therefore, patients with chronic low blood pressure should receive active treatment to alleviate their condition and protect vital organs.
The standard for low blood pressure
The diagnostic criteria for hypotension are that if both systolic and diastolic pressures are below normal levels, it is diagnosed as hypotension. Normal blood pressure ranges from 90-140 mmHg for systolic and 60-90 mmHg for diastolic. A clinical diagnosis of hypotension is made if the systolic pressure is below 90 mmHg and diastolic pressure is below 60 mmHg. There are many causes of hypotension, which can result from certain diseases, blood loss, anaphylactic shock, heart failure, etc. Hypotension can also be caused by physiological reasons such as an unreasonable diet structure, lack of nutrition, or lack of energy. Regardless of the cause, any instance of hypotension requires appropriate treatment.
What should people with low blood pressure eat?
No matter what the cause of low blood pressure, it is necessary to supplement with nutrients. Therefore, patients with low blood pressure should consume foods high in quality protein such as milk, eggs, lean meat from animals, fish, and shrimp. These foods not only provide high-quality protein needed by the human body but also supply a variety of vitamins and trace elements, enhancing physical constitution. Additionally, consuming more salty soups, vegetable soups, chicken broth, and fish soup can not only provide rich nutrients but also quickly increase blood volume, thereby raising blood pressure.
How to deal with low blood pressure?
Low blood pressure in medicine refers to a systolic pressure below 90mmHg and a diastolic pressure below 60mmHg. So, what should one do after being diagnosed with low blood pressure? First, a formal examination is necessary, such as a blood test, to see if anemia might be causing the low blood pressure. Additionally, carrying out a cardiac ultrasound and an electrocardiogram (ECG) to check for potential heart diseases is advisable. Second, if anemia, heart diseases, or other conditions are ruled out as causes of the low blood pressure, appropriate medication can be taken to raise the blood pressure. For instance, certain traditional Chinese medicines, ginseng, Codonopsis pilosula, Glehnia littoralis, and Pseudostellaria heterophylla, can be helpful. One can take Chinese herbal decoctions under the guidance of a qualified Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor to help increase blood pressure. (Specific medications should be used under the guidance of a doctor; do not self-medicate.)
How to remedy low blood pressure?
Long-term low blood pressure can cause significant harm to the body, leading to ischemia and hypoxia in vital organs. Therefore, for patients with chronic low blood pressure, in addition to effective drug treatment, nutritional supplementation is also necessary. Consuming high-quality protein foods, especially animal meats, which are rich in protein, not only provides high-quality protein for the body but also enhances the immune system and improves heart contractile function, helping to replenish water energy. Additionally, the adjustment with some traditional Chinese medicines can also be beneficial, consuming more herbs that nourish the heart muscle and boost qi and blood, achieving different effects.