low blood pressure

[cutie6686]

Is low blood pressure dangerous?

[banglamom]

Low blood pressure as long as it is not TOO low is generrally better for you than dangerous persay.  120/80 is textbook normal, but  110s/70 is better.  sbp under 100 thinks get grayer.  A bp with the top number under 80 gets to be problematic.  A dangerously low bp is when there is not enough pressure to perfuse organs and that is fairly variable.  I sometimes get dangerously low pressures on my meds and besides being dizzy, I go all day without being able to pee because there is not much kidney perfusion.  Be sure not to get dehydrated all the time.  If it is caused by meds, they may need tweaking.  If it is just baseline a bit low.... you will not wear out your heart too fast.  Not to worry.

How low is the bp you are concerned about?

[NTB]

but if it's a sudden and sharp change, then you'd need to discover why it has happened. It could be, e.g., from internal bleeding or an infection or allergy.

[NTB]

I believe there was a study done that women who are small and thin and have naturally low BP are the people who tend to live the longest.

As macfan says, if you have no symptoms then you probably have no need to worry. However, fainting can be a big problem if it results in falling, especially for elderly. Fainting would also mean a lack of blood, and other organs such as liver or kidneys might be getting damaged over time from lack of enough blood.

There is some evidence which is not at all conclusive that elderly people do better thinking-wise with a higher BP - again because of the blood flow.

You can try getting extra salt, which could increase your "blood volume" and therefore your BP. If the low BP occurs only occasionally, you maybe can try coffee (for the caffeine). Also make sure you're not dehydrated.

[macfan6]

I heard that it isn't just that it can make you faint a lot if it is low, which is annoying. If it's too low, it can be, but that is really low. My untie has low blood pressure, she used to faint a lot as a kid.