Low
Diastolic Blood Pressure
Low diastolic blood pressure is not as common as high blood pressure
but can be a dangerous condition nonetheless. Blood Pressure is the
force applied by the blood against the walls of the vessels.
The
normal or healthy average blood pressure usually ranges from 90/60 to
119/79mmHg. The maximum pressure that is acceptable is 120/80mmHg but
that number is sometimes considered to be the starting
point of prehypertension. The prehypertension is the first step
toward hypertension. A prehypertensive person is still healthy but must
take the necessary precautions to prevent an increase of the blood
pressure.
You will notice that blood pressure readings consist of 2 numbers that
look like a fraction. The number in the top is the systolic blood
pressure and the one in the bottom is called the diastolic blood
pressure. The systolic pressure is measured when the heart contracts
and the diastolic pressure is the one taken when the heart is relaxed.
Both pressures behave in a similar way if one goes up the other one has
to rise as well. There has been reports that diastolic blood pressure
seems to have a greater impact on the body that the systolic one.
The dangers of low diastolic blood pressure are as damaging as the high
diastolic pressure if it gets too low.
High diastolic blood
pressure can cause severe damage to the organs in the body like the
heart, brain and kidneys.
Keeping the systolic pressure down to lower
than 90 mmHg is very important to prevent complications. Cognitive
problems have been identified as consequence of having the systolic
pressure too high. The ability to concentrate and perform certain tasks
like reading and perform mathematical calculations can be disrupted if
the diastolic pressure is too high. In the case of low diastolic blood
pressure it can cause other problems too.
When the pressure gets too low some of the symptoms are dizziness and
fainting. Low blood pressure means that blood is not reaching the
organs efficiently and a poor amount of oxygen is being delivered to
the organs.
Chest pain
and even heart attacks can be a consequence if
not enough blood can reach the coronary arteries. The
kidneys can also
fail to eliminate the waste of the body if the amount of blood reaching
them is too little. Prolonged exposure to very low blood pressure can
lead to shock and that can causes liver, lung, heart and brain failure.
Most of the cases of severe low blood pressure are treated with
hydration with plenty of fluids and electrolytes. In mild cases fluids
are taken orally but the most severe ones are provided intravenously.
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