What do you do to treat low blood pressure

Low blood pressure (hypotension) is typically not a serious problem unless it causes symptoms and complications like fainting, dizziness, confusion, and shock. In many cases, simple adjustments to lifestyle, diet, and habits can treat low blood pressure successfully. Sometimes medication may be prescribed to raise the blood pressure to a normal range.

If your blood pressure suddenly drops due to a medical condition, such as bleeding, you will need urgent medical treatment,

Home Remedies and Lifestyle

If your blood pressure is on the low side, making certain changes to your lifestyle can help you raise your blood pressure to healthy levels.

These changes may include:

• Avoid sitting up or standing up quickly: Instead, do it slowly. You can also try moving your legs a bit before trying to sit or stand up to get the blood flowing.
• Avoid standing for long periods of time if possible: This is particularly important if you have neurally mediated hypotension.
• Avoid crossing your legs while sitting: In some cases, this can prevent blood from flowing up and away from your legs.
• Wear compression stockings: The stockings will apply pressure to your legs, helping blood move better. You should consult your doctor before you start to wear compression stockings as a form of treatment.

If you have postural hypotension, also described as orthostatic hypotension, your blood pressure can drop when you get up to sit from a lying position or stand from a lying or sitting position. Always remembering to make slow adjustments in your body position can help.

It's also important to be careful to avoid falls. Consider having a walker near your bed as you get used to those first steps in the morning.

Diet

Limiting your intake of certain foods, and increasing your intake of others, can help raise your blood pressure.

• Drink plenty of water.
• Drink fluids that contain electrolytes like potassium.
• Limit or cut off alcohol intake completely.
• Increase your salt intake. You should make sure to consult your healthcare professional about whether this would be right for you.

If you have postprandial hypotension, which is low blood pressure that occurs after eating, you can try eating smaller, low-carb, meal portions. This will prevent your digestive system from consuming a higher proportion of your blood flow.

At-Home Monitoring

If you can, buy a blood pressure reading machine, and ask a healthcare professional to teach you how to use it. This will help you keep track of your blood pressure daily, and discover what’s normal for you.

The results will help your doctor know whether your blood pressure is always low or if it drops at certain times (such as after taking medication, in response to body position changes, or after eating).

Prescriptions

Several drugs are used to treat low blood pressure. The most commonly prescribed of them are fludrocortisone and midodrine.

• Fludrocortisone works by increasing sodium (salt) levels and blood volume in the body.
• Midodrine works by tightening blood vessels, which increases blood pressure. Midodrine is usually only used for people who have chronic orthostatic low blood pressure.

If you are experiencing severe hypotension that's linked to shock, may be given intravenously (injected into your veins) drugs like epinephrine and norepinephrine, which work by narrowing blood vessels,

If your low blood pressure is caused by an underlying medical condition, your doctor will treat your blood pressure as well as your medical condition. If it’s caused by any medication you are currently taking, your doctor may change the dosage of the medication or replace it with another one.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is considered low blood pressure?

  Blood pressure is typically considered low when it's below 90/60 mmHg.

• What causes low blood pressure?

  Low blood pressure can have many different causes, including:

  • Medications
  • Blood loss
  • Pregnancy
  • Endocrine conditions
  • Heart disease
  • Severe infections
  • Allergic reaction

• When is low blood pressure an emergency?

  Your body could go into shock if your blood isn't getting enough oxygen to your vital organs. Call 911 or get immediate emergency care if you have low blood pressure with any of the following:

  • Nausea
  • Dehydration
    
  • Heart palpitations
  • Dizziness, fainting
  • Severe headache, neck or back pain
  • Cold, clammy, pale skin
  • Blurred vision
  • Problems with concentration
  • Rapid, shallow breathing

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Additional Reading

By Tolu Ajiboye
Tolu Ajiboye is a health writer who works with medical, wellness, biotech, and other healthcare technology companies.

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