Home Remedies For Low Blood Pressure

Treating Low Blood Pressure

Treating low blood pressure or hypotension, means treating the underlying cause. When you have low blood pressure, or hypotension, it's often important to work with your doctor because low blood pressure is generally caused by some other disorder that needs to be corrected. But there are also some home remedies for hypotension.

Let's first talk about ntreating low blood pressure by describing some of its most common underlying causes.

Dehydration can occur for a number of reasons. If you exercise too much or too long without water breaks, your fluid levels will drop. At a certain point, your blood pressure will drop with it. Make sure you stay well hydrated when exercising.

Stomach flu, or gastroenteritis, is another cause of dehydration that's easily overlooked. Diarrhea and vomiting rob your body of fluids. If you have the stomach flu (also commonly called "stomach virus") be especially careful standing up too quickly because of a condition called orthostatic hypotension. This condition, also called postural hypotension, occurs when blood drains from your brain as you stand up. Symptoms are dizziness and lightheadedness. You could easily faint and fall, injuring yourself.

Disorders that affect your endocrine system often cause low blood pressure. These typically include both hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) and hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). In addition to thyroid problems, hypotension can be brought on by Addison's disease, hypoglycemia and diabetes.

Low blood pressure medications Certain medications are believed to help prevent orthostatic hypotension or temporary low blood pressure - the kind you get when you stand up to fast and feel light-headed. These include fludrocortisone and midodrine. But there's no medication on the market at the moment that is specifically designed for treating low blood pressure that is more or less chronic.

A number of high blood pressure medications that can sometimes result in lowering blood pressure too much. A number of medications may contribute to hypotension, especially diuretics. The same is true for alpha blockers, which are typically used to treat high blood pressure and prostate problems. Another class of medications, known as beta blockers, are designed to bring blood pressure down too. Beta blockers are commonly used for hypertension, migraines and glaucoma. If you are taking high blood pressure medications, you may need to work with your doctor on alternatives or dosage adjustments.

Drugs for Parkinson's disease, depression and erectile dysfunction may also cause low blood pressure. 

Hypotension and heart rate Heart rate problems require your doctor's help. A low heart rate is a common cause of hypotension. When your heart doesn't pump fast enough, your organs and tissues don't get enough oxygen and nutrients. Bradycardia is the medical term for a low heart rate.

Low blood pressure can also be caused by other heart trouble like valve problems, heart attack and heart failure. Once again, if you have any of these health challenges, your doctor is probably already treating your low blood pressure.

Treating low blood pressure yourself Happily, there are also a number of home remedies for low blood pressure to bring your blood pressure back to normal. Lifestyle changes involving diet and exercise can also make a difference.

Make sure you're getting enough vitamin B-12 and folate. Without these, you may develop anemia, which lowers blood pressure. Also make sure your diet includes enough salt. This is counterintuitive for most people because they've heard for years that salt is bad for blood pressure. It's true that too much salt causes high blood pressure. But it's also true that too little salt causes low blood pressure. Learn to strike a healthy balance. If you don't like table salt, try flavoring your food with soy sauce, which is loaded with sodium.

It also helps to keep down your alcohol consumption. Alcohol dehydrates you, even if you only drink in moderation.

Finally, you might try wearing compression stockings. These prevent blood from pooling in your legs, thereby promoting circulation and normal blood pressure.

Our article on blood pressure medications gives you more information on types of medications that are likely to lower blood pressure. Also see our article on orthostatic hypertension.

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