Table of contents:
- What is blood pressure?
- Causes of low blood pressure
- 1. Pregnancy
- 2. Heart disease
- 3. Hormones that change
- 4. Dehydration
- 5. Currently taking drugs
- 6. Neurological conditions
- 7. Anemia
- How to prevent low blood pressure
Many people focus more on the causes of high blood pressure because it can result in death. However, there is also something that is no less dangerous, namely low blood pressure. What are the causes of low blood pressure? Previously, consider the following initial explanation.
What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is generated when the heart pumps blood around the blood arteries in the body. As blood flows through the arteries, it puts pressure on the artery walls. This pressure is what is assessed as a measure of the strength of blood flow or known as blood pressure. If the blood pressure in the arteries is lower than normal, it is usually called low blood pressure.
Normal blood pressure, the size is 120/88 mm Hg, but a person's blood pressure is not always the same every time, it always changes. Some experts say that low blood pressure is in the systolic size of 90 (the first number) and the dystolic at 60 (the second number). Sudden change in blood pressure to low is also dangerous because it can lead to severe dizziness, due to the brain failing to receive adequate blood flow.
Causes of low blood pressure
1. Pregnancy
During pregnancy, a woman's blood circulation develops very quickly, which is different from normal. This happens because during pregnancy there are hormonal changes that cause blood vessels to dilate and blood pressure to decrease. Blood pressure begins to fall early in pregnancy and is usually common in the second trimester of gestation.
2. Heart disease
In people with heart disease, it is easy to find low blood pressure too. This condition may also be found in heart failure and heart attacks. This is caused by blood that cannot be pumped properly by the problematic heart, resulting in a decrease in blood pressure.
3. Hormones that change
Health conditions are often influenced by our body's hormones. One of them is low blood pressure associated with Addison's disease. Addison's disease is a disease in which the body's immune system attacks and damages the adrenal glands. Addison's disease affects two small glands that are above the kidneys. These two glands are glands that produce hormones that control blood pressure and maintain the balance of salt and water in the body. Low blood pressure also occurs when the adrenal glands are damaged, for example if there is an infection or tumor in the gland.
4. Dehydration
Dehydration occurs when your body lacks fluids. During dehydration, blood that is dependent on water cannot supply circulation to the rest of the body. Thus, this condition decreases the volume of blood in the arteries and veins and causes low blood pressure to occur.
5. Currently taking drugs
If you are taking certain drugs, you can also develop low blood pressure. Usually if you experience certain pain, you are rarely aware of this condition. Some drugs that can affect include alpha blockers (high blood pressure drugs), beta blockers, and antidepressant drugs.
6. Neurological conditions
This condition involves Parkinson's disease as the cause of low blood pressure. Parkinson's is a disease that causes conditions that affect the nervous system. Meanwhile, low blood pressure itself occurs when a part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system has been disturbed.
The autonomic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that controls body functions such as sweating and the digestive system. This nervous system also has another function, namely to widen and constrict blood vessels in the body. So, if there is a problem or disorder in the autonomic nervous system, the blood vessels can remain dilated and cannot narrow again. This is what causes low blood pressure.
7. Anemia
When a person has anemia, what will happen is the body lacks blood, where the hemoglobin in the body is below normal levels. And in this case, it can be ascertained that the blood pressure in the body is also very low
How to prevent low blood pressure
Preventing low blood pressure from occurring can be done by consuming enough minerals, because dehydration will cause an imbalanced blood pressure and tend to be low. Also, eat at the right time. The body organs will supply nutrients from the food we eat through blood, which of course requires a lot of blood. Finally, avoid using sedatives that can cause your blood pressure to be below average.
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