BP bottom reading

[HHH2017]

Hi, I have had a few dizzy spells recently so thought my BP might be low. Ive therefore been checking it morning and night and Ive only actually had one low reading. The rest have been fairly good apart from the bottom reading (diastolic) which has been slightly high several times. Any thoughts on what might be causing this?

[Sunnie2day]

Could be anything causing the higher diastolic readings - if mine had gone higher more than twice even if hours/days apart between higher diastolic readings, I'd be on the telephone to the medics. Repeated higher readings indicate the 'resting' pressure in your arteries between heartbeats is higher than it should be and should be reported to the doctor and the cause investigated if he/she thinks it is significant.

Please update after your medic has had her/his say on it - it may be nothing to be concerned about but only your doctor(s) can make the determination.

[HHH2017 in reply to Sunnie2day]

Thank you so much for your swift, supportive reply. I’ll get my readings to the surgery 👍🏼

[Sunnie2day in reply to HHH2017]

Please update after you get a response. (and I'm editing my reply to correct a grammar error, you may notice a change but it won't change the suggestion you contact the doctor )

[HHH2017 in reply to Sunnie2day]

Hi Sunnie2day my GP asked me to take readings morning and night & send to her. Have just finished this and all my readings have been ok! No dizzy spells this week and only just one spike in my heart rate (which is to be expected). So GP happy that it was just an anomily on not to be concerned. Asked me to do weekly BP for a month and if I have any further dizzy spells but seems happy so I am too 👍🏼

[Sunnie2day in reply to HHH2017]

Great news about it probably being an anomaly AND that your GP asked you to continue the log for another month - she wants to follow up and that's fabulous!

Thank-you for updating

[HHH2017 in reply to Sunnie2day]

She is very thorough👍🏼 Thanks for your support.

[catchee]

i take quite a few drugs that drop my BP significantly, are you on any medication?

[HHH2017 in reply to catchee]

Yes Im on Bisoprolol and Aspirin at the moment. 2 heart attacks due to myopericarditis 2.5 years ago which left me with permanent damage to my heart.

[Palpman]

It would help if you mention your BP.

I presume it is over 90 for you to be concerned.

If you dehydrate then your blood volume decreases and thereby so would your resting blood pressure. This I know but would have to assume the opposite is also true. Drinking more fluids increases your resting BP.

On the other hand it is also normal for BP to vary and have odd spikes throughout the day. For this reason my GP rounds off readings. A BP of 75/138 would be recorded as 70/130.

Try taking magnesium supplements to better control your BP. Good for ectopics as well.

[HHH2017 in reply to Palpman]

Thank you for this. My BP monitor highlighted it. 89-92 3 times recently on morning readings. Id be surprised if dehydrated but will monitor just incase.

[Palpman in reply to HHH2017]

You mean "hydrated". Water adds to blood volume and thus BP.

Diastolic of 90 is within the boundaries of normal.

[HHH2017 in reply to Palpman]

My machine lights up as amber from about 86 I think, that was only thing telling me it was high really. I was checking due to a few dizzy spells. I didnt know about link with water and BP. Ive recently really increased water intake due to trying to follow a very healthy diet - maybe that has caused it?! No further dizzy spells in last couple of days and a weeks readings now with GP so we’ll see 🤞🏽 hopefully just a blip 👍🏼

[Palpman]

Low BP can cause dizziness not high BP.

BP calculator that I used gave me this result;

Age 62

Male

BP 130/90

Congratulations! Your Blood Pressure is within the normal limits for your age group.

You seem to have a Normal Blood Pressure and you are NOT at risk for Hypertension (high blood pressure).

[HHH2017 in reply to Palpman]

Exactly, so I was expecting low results & was very surprised🤷🏻‍♀️Mine never congratulates me 😂😂😂