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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Does low blood pressure cause dizziness?

The main clinical symptoms of low blood pressure include dizziness, which is caused by ischemia and hypoxia in the brain due to low blood pressure. The primary causes of low blood pressure are insufficient cardiac contractile force, changes in vascular elasticity, and inadequate blood volume, leading to insufficient perfusion in the body and vital organs, causing ischemia and hypoxia. Dizziness is a major symptom of cerebral ischemia. Not only can severe dizziness cause headaches, but it can also lead to unconsciousness. Severe low blood pressure can cause confusion, apathy, and other symptoms, requiring active treatment to raise blood pressure.

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Written by Zeng Wei Jie
Cardiology
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What causes low blood pressure?

There are many causes of low blood pressure. A significant portion of chronic hypotension is due to physical constitution, with some patients who are generally frail having consistently low blood pressure but no symptoms. This type is quite common. Secondly, postural hypotension is also fairly common, often seen in elderly people or those taking antihypertensive medications, such as receptor blockers. These patients may experience transient dizziness and transient low blood pressure when getting up, known as postural hypotension. Moreover, the more common type is acute, sustained low blood pressure, which includes various causes of shock, myocardial infarction, cardiac tamponade, or acute blood loss, which can be life-threatening conditions requiring urgent treatment.

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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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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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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.