hypotension

[libbydoel73]

Hello

please can you tell me where to find information about low blood pressure and what to do about.

Thanks.Liz

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I experienced this after losing over 15kg in five weeks due to severe infection. They gave me some medication to deal with postural hypotension as otherwise I became dizzy and wobbly on standing. I cannot recall its name as I was in a hospital environment. There is further information here:

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

[libbydoel73 in reply to MichaelJH]

Thanks for letting me join....Many thanks....I have bradycardia and recently a pacemaker for complete heart block....touch wood all well but Ian trying to do everything to bump up the blood pressure..will read information thanks again..

[fantasyfanuk in reply to libbydoel73]

Hi Liz, I’ve had a pacemaker for 5 years now for bradycardia and complete heart block, like you. I take quite a bit of medication, much of it I am told with the aim of keeping my blood pressure and pulse rate as low as possible without any faintness or dizziness. This is to keep my heart under as little strain as possible. I never had high blood pressure so the effect of the medication is to reduce it to fairly low levels, occasionally as low as 95/55. However I don’t have much in the way of symptoms when it is this low. The cardiologist said it’s a balancing act between keeping it low enough without ruining my quality of life. Has your doctor told you to try to raise your BP?

[libbydoel73 in reply to fantasyfanuk]

Many thanks for your heartfelt... reply...maybe I am worrying too much.. relatively early days..wishing you well..

[gilreid1]

This may seem obvious but your GP would be the easiest as I assume they diagnosed it.

[libbydoel73 in reply to gilreid1]

Thanks...retired nurse soaware bp always been low but maybe with the pacemaker it has made me more conscious of this...

[bridgeit]

Hi Liz. In my experience (I'm not a medic), doctors don't take much notice of low blood pressure (BP) unless it's chronically well below 90/60 or there's a problem with persistent dizziness when standing up from a sitting position. They're far more reactive to sky-high BP.My view is that if low BP seems to be causing a problem, such as dizziness, nausea, foggy thinking, loss of appetite, among other troubles, then it ideally needs referral by a GP for further investigation to rule out an underlying problem. The appropriate specialism for referral is endocrinology.

BP is controlled by the kidneys/adrenal glands, not the heart. For example, when exercising, your heart can quickly increase its rate but your BP might stay quite low or just shift slightly. Similarly, someone with a low resting heart rate might have a BP high in the stratosphere.

If there's no clinical anomaly found that's causing low BP, there is info around about managing low BP naturally, such as this book available on Amazon:

"Revived! Proven Natural Solutions for Low Blood Pressure by Dr. Dorothy Adamiak" There are other books out there too.

Bearing in mind that you have heart issues, a chat with your cardiac specialist might be a good idea before making any speculative and radical dietary/lifestyle changes. Take particular care with herbs/spices that could contra-indicate with prescribed medication. Check with your pharmacist to be on the safe side before you swallow anything that's a new venture for you, e.g. fresh ginger, turmeric, liquorice, caffeine et al.

I hope you find something soon that works perfectly for you!

[libbydoel73 in reply to bridgeit]

Very grateful for your thoughtful and helpful advice,I will certainly take note Liz...