I have too low blood pressure. Many a person tries to explain his troublesome sensations or states of failure with this statement. Therefore, it is understandable that the consulted physician receives such a remark with a certain skepticism and seeks first of all to clarify by detailed examinations whether the low blood pressure is really the essential reason for the complaints put forward.
What is blood pressure and what is its function?
At physical rest, blood pressure in younger people ranges from 100/60 to 125/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury). The blood pressure values usually measured reflect the pressure in larger arteries, usually the brachial artery. The pressures prevailing during contraction of the heart and cardiac pause are measured and related to each other. At physical rest, the blood pressure of younger people is between 100/60 and 125/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury). Far more difficult to determine than these values are the pressures in the pulmonary arteries, which are of practical interest in a smaller number of circulatory and pulmonary diseases. The blood pressure in the arteries depends on numerous factors and can therefore change constantly. It is determined by the amount of blood flowing out with each heartbeat, the rate at which the heart beats, the total amount of blood circulating, and the viscosity of the blood. The smallest arteries, also called arteries, represent a crucial circulatory mechanical factor. These can contract very tightly and dilate relatively strongly, so that they form the bottleneck of the circulatory system, which is decisive for the formation of blood pressure. Blood pressure regulation is based on the principle of multiple protection, involving the nervous system, hormones that affect blood pressure, and a number of metabolic products produced during cellular activity in all organs. Economic regulation of circulation means the best possible blood supply to the working organs with the most economical use of the total circulation. At the same time, this includes the ability to adapt as quickly as possible to work-related increases in blood demand in individual organs. In this context, circulatory output in organ systems that are currently working less intensively must be reduced and resting values must be reached again as quickly as possible after the momentary additional demand has been satisfied. Due to the necessity of an elastic adaptation of the circulatory performance to the often rapidly changing demands of the organism, the arterial blood pressure changes accordingly even in healthy individuals. In the case of strong physical overload, as in the case of mental excitement, the pressure can rise 20 to 60 mm Hg above the resting values. The more efficient the circulatory system, the faster it returns to the initial values. Conversely, the lowest blood pressure values are measured in the state of greatest relaxation during night sleep. In older people, as a result of the tissue changes in the vascular walls, somewhat higher blood pressure values are necessary to ensure an adequate blood supply to the tissues. This is therefore a normal adaptation process to physiological age changes.
Low blood pressure
Low blood pressure should be spoken of only when there are corresponding signs of local or general circulatory failure at the same time. In fact, the effects of low blood pressure vary widely. There are people who never have more than resting values of 100/70 or below throughout their lives, without ever suffering from complaints or limitations in their performance. Many of them even reach an old and carefree age. In these people there is a special constitutional condition in which, due to the general constitution of the tissues, the structure of the vessels, often also due to a special constellation in the household of the glands with internal secretion and due to a calm temperament, the low blood pressure values mentioned are perfectly sufficient to ensure a harmonious circulatory performance. More common, however, is that group in which the low blood pressure is a partial manifestation of a general instability of the circulatory regulation. In these cases, the interaction of the numerous factors regulating blood pressure is disturbed, and often other signs of uneconomic cardiovascular activity are found in addition to the excessively low blood pressure.In addition, every family doctor will know patients in whom periods of low blood pressure alternate with periods of excessively high blood pressure. This unbalanced circulatory regulation often manifests itself in an inadequate blood supply to specific circulatory areas, such as the head, coronary vessels and lungs, abdominal organs or limbs. Accordingly, the symptoms and signs of the disease can vary greatly. Common signs of such regulatory circulatory failure include: Loss of stamina during physical and mental exertion, fatigue, lack of concentration, pallor of the head (without the presence of anemia).
Symptoms and signs
Some circulatory disorders cannot stand for long periods of time without being affected by nausea and fainting spells. Mood swings are also very common; dejection usually predominates. Other patients with circulatory disorders suffer from heat imbalances with shivering and hypothermia of the limbs. The feet tend to swell up due to the sluggish flow of blood in the veins and hair vessels. With the predominant failure of individual circulatory areas, corresponding complaints come to the fore. Thus, in the case of failure of the head circulation, headache, dullness and increased mental excitability often prevail, and in the case of insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle, trepidation and heartache. Circulatory failure of the pulmonary circulation often produces shortness of breath, while circulatory failure of the digestive organs may cause loss of appetite and a tendency to flatulence.
Causes
The complaint-causing forms of low blood pressure can be due to many different circumstances. A lack of physical exercise or the sudden discontinuation of previously habitual physical activity plays a major role. After severe emotional upheavals, it is also not uncommon for there to be a prolonged loss of tone in the vascular system with a simultaneous drop in blood pressure. Metabolic processes can also cause a drop in blood pressure, such as excessive restriction of protein intake. Liver disease is also often accompanied by low blood pressure. As a temporary sign of illness, a drop in blood pressure is observed after acute infections. Recovery from viral influenza in particular is characterized in some epidemics by troublesome circulatory disturbances that impair performance. In other cases, chronic infections of the head organs, especially of the dentition, tonsils and mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, cause regulation disorders of the circulation, as well as the failure of some glands with internal secretion, especially the thyroid and adrenal glands. Different from the forms of too low blood pressure mentioned so far is the lowering of blood pressure caused by chronic heart defects or acute failure of cardiac output.
Treatment and therapy
Many complaints caused by low blood pressure can be effectively controlled with the help of appropriate lifestyle habits and specific treatment measures. In most cases, the main thing is to train the insufficient regulatory capacity of the circulatory system. Properly dosed physical exercise and some water treatments are excellent for this purpose. Exercising the muscles stimulates the essential individual factors of circulatory regulation. It causes an increase in blood flow to the muscle areas being used; at the same time, however, the blood flow in other circulatory areas is reduced to compensate for this. In the case of stronger muscle activity, additionally required blood quantities are drawn from the blood reservoirs (spleen, skin, liver, lungs). Finally, muscle activity also promotes the return of blood to the heart. All these factors not only contribute to the proper functioning of the diverse regulatory processes of blood distribution, but at the same time increase endurance and overall performance of the cardiovascular system. The daily one-longer-stretch walk is the most suitable and at the same time the easiest and constantly realizable form of circulatory training, such as a walk to work, the evening walk and the weekend hike. In summer, the circulatory effect of exercise can be increased by air baths and team sports (e.g. volleyball). The elderly should also adopt circulation-enhancing habits, such as gardening, ball games, and swimming.
Home remedies and self-treatment
Among the circulatory training forms of treatment that can be carried out at home alone, we can mention: dry brushing, cold whole washes or rubdowns, cold rubbing or brush leg baths. For the cold full washes, only a folded towel and cold water are needed. One stands undressed on a mat and washes the face, neck, extremities and front of the torso in large strokes with the well-moistened towel. In between, the cloth is repeatedly rinsed in water. For the treatment of the back, the cloth is unfolded so that, grasped at both ends, it reaches all parts of the back, rubbing circularly over both shoulders. After the washing, which lasts only about 2 minutes, either warm up in bed without prior drying or towel dry vigorously. Then dress immediately. For the cold rubbing or brushing baths, the bathtub is filled with as much cold water as possible. Sit down with your knees straight and rub your legs, arms and the front of your torso with flat hands that are repeatedly immersed in the water. Finally, bending the knees, you move your buttocks slightly to the foot end of the tub and briefly dip your back into the water two or three times. Instead of bare hands you can also use two bath brushes. The duration of the bath should be 2 minutes. Afterwards, dry yourself vigorously. If there are difficulties in rewarming after cold water applications, it is better to start with alternating warm washes and foot baths and only later to switch to the more tonic cold applications. Depending on the prevailing complaints, there is a wealth of special measures, but their prescription is a matter for the attending physician.
Special therapies
Only two considerations applicable to many cases should be pointed out. Loss of tone of the abdominal organs, and indeed of both the abdominal wall and the viscera, is often central to the development of negative pressure complaints. As a result of this loss of tone, large amounts of sluggishly circulating blood are lost from the abdominal organs, which are especially drawn from the organs of the upper half of the body. This is the place for special gymnastic exercises, which have a strengthening effect on the abdominal organs. Very suitable are, for example, rhythmic swinging exercises, especially rope swinging, rope jumping and most ball games. Breathing exercises learned under experienced guidance can also improve circulatory regulation. Against the blood emptiness in the organs of the head, probably known as the most annoying symptom of hypotension, elevating the legs during a short break in lying down helps. Gymnastic exercises such as the so-called candle or – for the more agile – the headstand have proven themselves not only in the sense of an instantaneous switch in blood distribution, but also as an effective exercise factor. Both exercises give impulses to a long-lasting improvement of blood circulation in the head. For the same patients, pouring cold water on the face several times a day is a good way to promote blood circulation to the head. From a vessel holding about 2 liters, the face is poured over slowly at eyebrow level from right to left and back. Starting with 2 to 3 vessels, the number of pours can be gradually increased. Finally, the following note: Not infrequently, there are causal relationships between an insufficient supply of the vitamin B complex and circulatory failure. Sufficient intake of these active substances, which we find in the whole grain products, especially also in wheat germ and the yeast species, is particularly important for the improvement of blood pressure. Also, the amount of protein in the diet should not be too scarce. It is up to the individual to decide whether to prefer more dairy products (all types of milk, curd, cheese) or fish or lean meat. One should first attack the causes of circulatory failure by reviewing one’s lifestyle habits before resorting to medicinal aids.
