Low Blood Pressure

[youknowme]

What causes it? Do you know anybody that has had it?

 

We were at a restaurant lastnight eating & my granny almost passed out right were she was sitting. The ambulance came & took her to the hospital. Her blood pressure was "80/Nothing". That's the words of the EMT. This was not the first time she has almost passed out because of it.

 

Do you know of anyone to have that problem?

[Sportz Addict]

It's not dangerous unless its sudden. If she goes from 80 to nothing suddenly thats not good. Certainly the whole nothing or zero thing is alarming also. Low blood pressure isn't classified like high blood pressure. If your under 50 or 60 diastolic they would consider that "low."

 

A good example of what a sudden change feels like is when you sit in maybe the bath for an hour and stand up quickly in one motion, notice how your body feels.

[youknowme]

It's not dangerous unless its sudden. If she goes from 80 to nothing suddenly thats not good. Certainly the whole nothing or zero thing is alarming also. Low blood pressure isn't classified like high blood pressure. If your under 50 or 60 diastolic they would consider that "low."

 

A good example of what a sudden change feels like is when you sit in maybe the bath for an hour and stand up quickly in one motion, notice how your body feels.

 

Well she was just sitting there eating & it all of a sudden happened.

[gold sunrise]

My blood presure tends to be low...usually 80/60. I asked my Dr if this was something to be concerned about and he told me no....for me it was normal.

 

Now the zero reading would concern me. Hope she gets better.

[cvillecat]

My wife also has a blood pressure that reads low on most check ups. Her Dr. says not to worry.

She is always "freezing to death" as she puts it. She is watching TV at this moment wrapped up with a blanket.:eek: :lol: Do others with low blood pressure have the same problem?

[gold sunrise]

My wife also has a blood pressure that reads low on most check ups. Her Dr. says not to worry.

She is always "freezing to death" as she puts it. She is watching TV at this moment wrapped up with a blanket.:eek: :lol: Do others with low blood pressure have the same problem?

 

YES :thumb: I too freeze all the time and just awhile ago was watching TV with a blanket. I also eat alot of salt...dosn't make my blood presure go up.

[HSsportsfan14]

My wife also has a blood pressure that reads low on most check ups. Her Dr. says not to worry.

She is always "freezing to death" as she puts it. She is watching TV at this moment wrapped up with a blanket.:eek: :lol: Do others with low blood pressure have the same problem?

 

Come to think of it, I tend to have low blood pressure (it hovers around 100/60 give or take) and I get cold easily too. Interesting connection.

[Ram]

What causes it? Do you know anybody that has had it?

 

There are a lot of reasons for low BP. One very common one, especially in the elderly, is a vagus nerve stimulation. Such as: when bearing down like having a bowl movement. This is very common, many people pass out during bowl movements. To stimulate the vagus nerve you do not have to be having a bowl movement, you can sneeze or any thing else that causes you to bear down.

 

Anemia is another common cause of low BP. Anemia is a fancy word for a low amount of red blood cells, this is more common in the elderly. This can be eliminated easily by a blood test.

 

Some people are more likely to have a "normally low" BP. For some people it is common to have a low BP, without problem.

 

Of course, dehydration is a possible cause, elderly people are susceptible to dehydration much quicker then a younger person.

 

And of course there are many more complicated caused as well, such as: brain tumors, carotid artery blockage, coronary artery blockage, dysrhythmias, aneurysms, internal bleeding, and cardiogenic shock. But, these are less common.

 

We were at a restaurant lastnight eating & my granny almost passed out right were she was sitting. The ambulance came & took her to the hospital. Her blood pressure was "80/Nothing". That's the words of the EMT. This was not the first time she has almost passed out because of it.

 

The 80 over nothing means you can hear a pulse all the way down to 0, normally you can hear the pulse stop between say 90 and 60. Some people. especially athletes, you can commonly hear the pulse down to 0. 80 systolic is not terribly bad. What caused her to experience near syncope (almost passing out) was how fast it dropped, not the level that it was at. This could have been caused by one of the above reasons. Only a comprehensive set of tests will tell for sure.

 

Do you know of anyone to have that problem?

 

In all honesty, this could be caused by one of the above conditions, and also it is part of getting older, the body sometimes can not cope with certain stressors, that is not saying that she was under stress per say, but her body was under stress weather she knew it or not. Don't be surprised if the testing does not reveal a big problem, and the doctor does not have a concrete explanation.

 

Hope this helped.

[STRIKE3]

I always thought LB, could also be attributed to lack of iron and sometimes, poor circulation.

 

Hope everything is okay and just an isolated incident.

[Ram]

I always thought LB, could also be attributed to lack of iron and sometimes, poor circulation.

 

Hope everything is okay and just an isolated incident.

 

This is true about the poor circulation. That comes into play with the carotid and coronary blockages, this causes poor circulation. As well as, DVT (deep venous thrombosis) and arteriosclerosis. This can also cause high blood pressure depending on the stage of the decease.

[youknowme]

Thanks guys.

 

By the way, her blood pressure is normally high, as she takes medication for it.

 

Ram, you were right. The tests were all negative. She is home now & back to normal.

[Ms Liberty]

I know people with high and some with low blood pressure and it seems that both can make you freeze.

[Ram]

Thanks guys.

 

By the way, her blood pressure is normally high, as she takes medication for it.

 

Ram, you were right. The tests were all negative. She is home now & back to normal.

 

If she is on anti hypertensive medication, the elderly sometimes do not metabolize medications the way they should. Sometimes a normal dose will not completely metabolize and some will stay in the body, then when a person takes the next regular dose they metabolize it as well as the remaining dose that was still in the body. This makes a kind of overdose and can cause a sudden change in BP.

 

Plus, there are many different kinds of anti hypertensive medications that work differently, calcium channel blockers and beta blockers make up a large portion, sometimes one does not work well for certain people.

[Ram]

I know people with high and some with low blood pressure and it seems that both can make you freeze.

 

It's a defense mechanism. The first thing that the body does to regulate itself is shut down blood supply to the skin. That is why people begin to turn pale and sweat profusely when their BP drops. The body says, "hey, the brain needs oxygen, so shut down the blood to the skin and send it to the brain". It's kinda like a fale safe. People with bad circulation have this problem, not a enough blood to the vital organs, so the skin gets left out.

[youknowme]

If she is on anti hypertensive medication, the elderly sometimes do not metabolize medications the way they should. Sometimes a normal dose will not completely metabolize and some will stay in the body, then when a person takes the next regular dose they metabolize it as well as the remaining dose that was still in the body. This makes a kind of overdose and can cause a sudden change in BP.

 

Plus, there are many different kinds of anti hypertensive medications that work differently, calcium channel blockers and beta blockers make up a large portion, sometimes one does not work well for certain people.

 

Are you a doctor or did you just stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night???

But seriously, you seem to know your stuff & you have been a big help in my understanding of all this. Thanks.