The diagnosis
The simplest and safest means of diagnosis is a blood pressure measurement. To check whether the blood pressure is permanently low, a 24-hour blood pressure measurement is often carried out. The standard value for diastolic blood pressure is between 60 and 90 mmHg.
A distinction must be made between hypotension and orthostatic dysregulation. Permanent diastolic blood pressure values below 60 mmHg are referred to as arterial hypotension, whereas orthostatic dysregulation is characterized by a short-term drop in blood pressure when standing up or getting up. This is due to the fact that quite a lot of blood is lost in the legs when standing up. The heart no longer has enough blood to fill completely and this leads to a drop in blood pressure. The sudden loss of pressure can lead to short-term unconsciousness, colloquially known as circulatory collapse.
The Therapy
The basic therapy consists in the intake of sufficient drinking quantity to prevent a lack of fluids. The consumption of common salt can be increased and sports activities can also be used to train the circulation. Hypotonus can also be treated with medication, but this is only done if the patient complains of symptoms.
In this case, mineral corticoids, sympathomimetics or dihydroergotamine are available. If this option is an option for you, it is best to go to your doctor and get advice. There are several different groups of drugs that can increase diastolic or total blood pressure.
However, these are usually associated with possible side effects, so that non-drug options such as the household remedies listed below should be tested first. In general, it should first be clarified what the cause of low blood pressure is. These diseases should be treated first.
Drugs to raise blood pressure can be divided into four classes: The first group are the so-called sympathomimetics. These act in a similar way to the body’s own hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline and increase the contractile force of the heart as well as the blood return to the heart. The second group are vasoconstrictors, which primarily constrict the venous vessels and thus increase the availability of blood in the arterial circulation.
A well-known drug in this class is dihydroergotamine. In addition, the administration of mineral corticoids can be of great help. These are normally produced in the adrenal cortex and prevent the excretion of salt and water in the kidney, which keeps the blood volume high and thus increases blood pressure.
The fourth option is the administration of erythropoietin, which promotes the maturation of the red blood cells (red blood cells in medicine) in the bone marrow and thus allows more oxygen to be bound and made available to the organs. In emergency situations, such as shock, infusion solutions with electrolytes increase the blood volume and raise severely lowered blood pressure values. There are numerous home remedies and possibilities to increase blood pressure, which should be tried out before taking medication, thus saving the need for drug therapy.
One cause of low blood pressure is a lack of blood volume. This can be increased by a balanced and salt-rich diet. An increased salt content in the blood results in water.
In general, it is recommended to drink a lot of fluids, two to three liters daily. Sodium-rich mineral water, tea or fruit juices are best. Another way of counteracting low blood pressure is to take measures to get the circulation going.
This includes sports of all kinds (such as swimming, jogging, cycling, hiking and much more) but also activities such as walking, gymnastics, yoga or dancing. In addition, an alternating shower with cold and warm water can be very helpful. In order to prevent the blood from pooling in the legs too much, especially when standing up quickly or standing on one spot for a long time, support and compression stockings are recommended, which facilitate the return flow to the heart.
Furthermore, affected persons should avoid getting up too quickly, as in the worst case this can lead to dizzy spells or even fainting.Many natural and homeopathic substances are said to increase blood pressure and stabilize the circulation. One helpful substance is hawthorn, which increases the pumping power of the heart and at the same time improves the oxygen supply to the heart by dilating the coronary vessels. In addition, it has a lowering effect on high blood pressure and is therefore optimal for a good blood pressure setting without outliers up and down. A second effective homeopathic remedy is haplopappus, which is obtained from the Baylahuenkraut and also directly increases blood pressure. You can find more information on this topic here: Homeopathy for low blood pressure.