What is the range for low blood pressure?

Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
Updated on September 19, 2024
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Blood pressure is an important indicator of human vital signs. Normal blood can meet the demands of human life activities and the blood supply to major organs. Too low blood pressure can severely affect human health and even endanger life. Normal blood pressure ranges from 90 to 140 mmHg for systolic and 60 to 90 mmHg for diastolic pressure. A systolic pressure below 90 mmHg and a diastolic pressure below 60 mmHg is considered low blood pressure. Diagnosis should also take into account underlying diseases, clinical symptoms, and other factors.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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How to treat low blood pressure?

The treatment of hypotension varies based on the cause and the underlying diseases. Mild hypotension without any accompanying diseases can often be managed by nutritional adjustments, proper rest, avoiding overwork, and refraining from staying up late and smoking. These measures can help gradually increase blood pressure. In cases where hypotension is caused by shock, bleeding, or heart disease, treatment should address these conditions while also replenishing blood volume and administering antihypertensive drugs as necessary. Severe hypotension can be life-threatening, thus, acute and severe low blood pressure is considered a critical condition that requires immediate emergency treatment.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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What to eat for low blood pressure

Dietary adjustments for low blood pressure are a major aspect. People with low blood pressure should consume high-nutrition, high-protein, and high-vitamin foods, especially drinking more fresh soups, including high-protein soups such as fish soup, shrimp soup, chicken soup, ginseng soup, and sea cucumber soup. These soups can enhance the body's immunity, provide high-quality protein, increase heart contractility, and quickly increase blood volume, thereby achieving a blood pressure-raising effect. Some traditional Chinese medicines can also be used, such as those that supplement Qi and blood, including Astragalus, Codonopsis, American ginseng, jujube, and goji berries, which have the effect of raising blood pressure.

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Written by Zeng Wei Jie
Cardiology
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Clinical symptoms of low blood pressure

The clinical symptoms of hypotension mainly depend on its type. For example, in patients with orthostatic hypotension, symptoms such as dizziness, syncope, or even falling may occur when moving from a lying to a standing position. For hypotension caused by shock, it can be divided into hypovolemic shock and shock caused by reduced cardiac output, which may lead to symptoms like reduced urine output, cold and clammy skin, rapid heart rate, and short pulse. The clinical symptoms caused by cardiac tamponade are also generally related to reduced cardiac output. If the hypotension is caused by gastrointestinal bleeding, symptoms like vomiting blood and black stools may occur. Thus, the symptoms of hypotension can vary greatly depending on the cause.

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Written by Xiao Chang Jiang
Cardiology
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symptoms of low blood pressure

Next, let us introduce some symptoms of low blood pressure. Actually, low blood pressure is divided into physiological and pathological low blood pressure. Generally speaking, physiological low blood pressure is asymptomatic, while pathological low blood pressure might have six major types of symptoms: The first type is fatigue and weakness, especially in the morning. Patients may feel listless and weak in their limbs which can improve after a nap or rest, but the fatigue may return in the afternoon or evening; The second type of symptoms includes headaches and dizziness. Among patients with low blood pressure, headaches are a common complaint, often occurring after intense mental activity or physical exertion. The nature and severity of headaches can vary, often manifesting as dull pain in the temporal or occipital region, but can also be intense pulsating pain or numb pain. Dizziness can vary in severity; mild cases involve blackout vision and vertigo, while severe cases can lead to fainting spells and even collapse, often occurring during sudden changes in body position, or when moving from a squatting to a standing position; The third type of symptoms involves chest pain or discomfort in the cardiac area, where patients with low blood pressure often experience such discomfort; The fourth type involves neurological dysfunctions, which can manifest as lethargy, reduced memory, sleep disturbances or insomnia, and severe cases may show signs of autonomic dysfunction. Symptoms might include pale skin, mild cyanosis, fluctuations between feeling cold and hot, sensations of ants crawling, or numbness in hands and feet; The fifth type of symptoms is reduced endocrine function, primarily shown as insufficient levels of substances like adrenaline and noradrenaline. Some patients may exhibit reduced blood sugar levels or decreased sexual function; The sixth type of symptoms includes poor appetite, abdominal discomfort, indigestion, or increased red blood cell count, decreased white blood cell count, reduced immunity, making infections more likely, etc.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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How to treat low blood pressure?

How to treat low blood pressure depends on the extent of the decrease in blood pressure and the causes of low blood pressure. If the blood pressure is not too low and there are no obvious clinical symptoms, generally, there is no need for pharmacological treatment. What is needed is lifestyle adjustments, consuming high-nutrient foods, proper exercise, increasing the vitality of the heart and the elasticity of the blood vessels, and drinking more broth. If it is caused by severe illness leading to shock, immediate effective medication treatment and rescue are required, starting with the replenishment of blood volume, improving microcirculation, and using vasopressors to raise the blood pressure to a safe range, to ensure the blood supply to the heart, brain, and kidneys. (Note: Doctor’s answers are for reference only. Please follow the guidance of a professional physician for medication use, and do not self-medicate blindly.)