Low blood pressure-causes, diagnosis and treatment

Low blood pressureBlood pressure is basically the total peripheral resistance that a artery generates towards blood flow. This total peripheral resistance leads to a pressure being exerted on the vessel walls, this pressure is what our physicians measure using a device called a sphygmo manometer. The optimal blood pressures for any body is 120-135mmhg systolic and between 60-85mmhg diastolic. When we talk about the systolic and diastolic blood pressures, they are in direct reference to the cardiac cycle. A systole is when the heart is in depolarization or when the heart contracts to push blood through the left ventricle into the aorta and eventually other arteries of the body. The diastole in contrast is the stage in the cardiac cycle when the heart is in repolarization or relaxation in this phase the mitral and tricuspid valves separating the left and right ventricles from the left and right atriums open and allow the blood to flow into them for the eventually systole to take pace again. A person is said to have low blood pressure or hypotension as it is known in physiology or medicine when a person tends to have BP values below than the normal interval. This is not really considered disease but is understood as physiological state instead. Low blood pressure in an individual may also be a symptom of an underlying more serious disease, and is mostly related to conditions of shock, if one has extreme hypotension it can be life threatening and person go into shock, in such moments it is imperative to raise a person blood pressure by using potent vasoconstrictive drugs and atropine should be promptly administered. A patient may suffer from hypotension in various conditions; increased parasympathetic stimulation is the most common cause of a dip in blood pressure among healthy individuals, for eg in case of vagal syncopy or other vagal reactions. Hypovolemia is the other cause of hypotension, this generally results from excessive use of diuretic medication or sometimes after a massive hemorrhage internal or external which may lead to sustained blood loss and as a sequale cause decreased fluid volume causing hypotension. This is another emergency situation and fluid balance should be corrected promptly using transfusions. Other anti hypertensive medications may cause hypotension through different mechanisms. Hypotension is also a sign of chronically ill patients, such as patients suffering from congestive heart failure in which case the blood volume is normal but the cardiac out ptu is decreased resulting in decreased perfusion and resulting in low blood pressure. Orthstatic hypotension is a condition in which the blood pressure falls depending on the postural position of the person. This sort of hypotension is generally transient and represents a delay in the compensatory ability of the ANS. It is generally seen when volume compromised patients stand up briskly after being in a seated or lying position for extended periods of time.
The treatment for low blood pressure basicall depends on the underlying cause of the condition. If the cause is eliminated or treated optimally the low blood pressure is eliminated.