Hazards of Low Blood Pressure
It is very important to keep a check on the blood pressure regularly. This is
because where hypertension or high BP is dangerous to the body, low BP is equally dangerous but
hypotension is not given much interest. Low blood pressure for a long period of time can be fatal,
as it causes irreversible damage to the vital organs of the body such as the brain, lungs and the
heart, by depriving them of oxygen. Thus in serious cases stroke, heart attack, kidney
failure, lung problems and eye sight problems can occur.
When the heart contracts the blood pressure in the arterial walls is normally
high, known as the systolic pressure. After the heart contracts, it tends to relax and in the
meantime the pressure felt on the artery blood is the diastolic pressure. Normal readings of the
systolic and diastolic pressure are 120 mm of Hg and 80 mm of Hg respectively. This is often
written as 120/80, and read as ‘120 over 80’. Hypertensive person is considered to be having
systolic pressure of 140 mm of Hg or higher than that, while when the BP is less than 90/60, the
condition is hypotension or low blood pressure.
Hazards of Low Blood Pressure
When a cell is deprived of oxygen for a long period of time, it stops all the
life processes and then dies. If we talk about the organs, the fate is similar. This is what
happens in low blood pressure condition, i.e. lack of oxygen being provided to the vital organs of
the body, causing their ultimate failure leading to the death of the person. Removal of waste
material such as the creatinine and urea requires continuous flow of blood and if sufficient is not
provided, these harmful substances will build up in the blood and the body will start
malfunctioning. Chest aches and in extreme cases heart attack is the outcome if the coronary
arteries, that provide oxygenated blood to the cardiac tissues, are deprived of oxygen as a result
of low BP.
Insufficient blood circulation means lack of oxygen and nutrients transport to
different parts of the body, including the vital organs such as the brain, kidney, liver, heart,
lungs etc. These organs fail as a result of prolonged scarcity of oxygen and nutrients resulting in
shocks, which are usual events in hypotension. Not only this, a patient of hypotension is often
struck with systematic collapsing events, rapid breathing, dank skin, cold, wooziness, imprecise
vision, lightheadedness and tremors. Extreme fatigue, nausea and weakness will cause the general
health of the person to deteriorate and can affect the concentration levels.
Sometimes hypertension patients, depending on hypertension medication overuse
the medication and this can lead the BP to abnormal low levels, causing hypotension. But this is
not always the case and the underlying causes can be different and the treatment depends on knowing
such causes. This is why the prevention of the hypotension hazards requires effective monitoring of
the signs, which is very significant.