Hypotension

Health Tips

By Lifestyle

Hypotension is more commonly known as low blood pressure. The good news is that a low blood pressure is not similar to the life-threatening high blood pressure. This condition does not cause other potentially serious diseases. Low blood pressure is sometimes referred to as a “life insurance”, because it protects against many cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack or stroke.

Symptoms

Fatigue, dizziness and extreme tiredness are signs of hypotension.

Low blood pressure occurs when blood supply to the brain deteriorates. This happens during hot, humid days when the blood vessels could not dilate and blood thickens as a result. This might lead to profuse sweating and to some extent, might cause dehydration. That is when the blood pressure would drop and symptoms such as tiredness and extreme fatigue immediately follows suit. These symptoms might also occur after eating because the blood in the digestive system stops circulating into the brain.

Complications

Hypotension causes extreme weakness, such that fainting and injury from falling after a fainting spell adds to the complications. During severe cases, deprivation of oxygen in the body would create a serious threat to its regular functions such that brain and heart might be affected. Severe cases or long term deprivation of oxygen to the brain and heart as you know leads to coma and death.

Causes

The major causes of hypotension are dehydration, extreme cases of immobility, and extreme exposure to the sun. There are also selected medicines such as those used to treat hypertension and in some cases if an individual has taken substances combined with hypertension medicines that could trigger the condition.

Natural Treatments

Although several groups of drugs may raise blood pressure slightly, alleviating the symptoms of low blood pressure and preventing vertigo attacks, there are always adverse effects. Therefore, try to improve the hypotension using non-pharmaceutical measures. With the clearance of your health practitioner, increase your intake of Iron by taking Iron-rich food like fish, meat, and vegetables.

Some even recommend drinking a cup of coffee at the right time to get the circulation going. Unfortunately, the effect is not long lasting, as caffeine affects in the regulation of blood pressure only for a short time.

Regular endurance training strengthens the heart and circulation. It should target more the vascular system as it would help in the bodily functions in adapting quickly to rising temperature and weather changes plus it could prevent vertigo attacks.

Travel Advice

People with low blood pressure should skip out vacationing in hot and humid countries because circulatory problems would always be a problem when the temperature is at its hottest.