What Blood Pressure Is Too Low? Everything You Need To Know

Key Takeaways:

Blood pressure below 90/60 mm Hg is generally considered low, but normal values vary by individual.
Chronic low blood pressure is only concerning if it causes symptoms like dizziness, fainting, fatigue, blurred vision.
Older adults are more prone to low blood pressure due to certain medications, dehydration, and medical conditions.
To diagnose low blood pressure, doctors measure BP over several visits and look for symptoms.
Increasing fluid/salt intake, adjusting medications, and compression stockings can help manage low BP.
Very low blood pressure can be an emergency that requires hospitalization.

Blood pressure is an important vital sign that can provide insight into the health of your heart, blood vessels, and how efficiently your circulatory system is delivering oxygenated blood to organs and tissues throughout the body.

When blood pressure becomes too low, it is referred to as hypotension or low blood pressure. This condition can cause bothersome signs and symptoms that negatively impact daily functioning and quality of life. In severe cases, dangerously low blood pressure can create a life-threatening medical emergency requiring urgent treatment.

What blood pressure level is considered too low, when should you be concerned about low readings, what causes chronic hypotension, and how is it managed? This comprehensive guide will explore all the key questions surrounding low blood pressure to help you understand this condition.

What Is Considered Low Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and is recorded as two numbers – the systolic pressure (top number) indicates the pressure in blood vessels when the heart contracts, while the diastolic pressure (bottom number) is the pressure when the heart relaxes between beats.

Blood pressure below 90/60 mm Hg is generally considered low. However, there is no single universal threshold that defines low blood pressure for all individuals. A reading that is normal and healthy for some may be relatively low for others, based on factors like age, medical history, baseline BP, and symptoms.

According to the American Heart Association:

Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm Hg.
Elevated blood pressure is 120-129/<80 mm Hg.
Stage 1 hypertension is 130-139/80-89 mm Hg.
Stage 2 hypertension is 140/90 mm Hg or higher.
Hypotension or low blood pressure is typically classified as 90/60 mm Hg or lower.

Doctors don’t normally get concerned about low blood pressure readings unless they consistently cause bothersome symptoms or are very low and represent a medical emergency. Some individuals can have relatively low BP but feel fine, while others may experience adverse effects even with readings in the normal range. The severity of symptoms matters more than the numbers.

When Is Low Blood Pressure a Cause for Concern?

For most healthy people, the body is very good at automatically adjusting blood pressure as needed through nervous system and hormonal signals. Short-term drops in blood pressure, for example due to environmental heat, dehydration, or standing up too quickly, are easily self-corrected.

Chronically low blood pressure, particularly accompanied by problematic symptoms, is more likely to raise concern and warrant evaluation by a doctor.

According to a study published in Postgraduate Medical Journal, the prevalence of low blood pressure significant enough to cause symptoms is estimated to be between 0.2% to 4% in the general population.

Some key points about when to be concerned about low blood pressure:

Consistently low readings: Blood pressure under 90/60 mm Hg on multiple measurements, especially when this runs low compared to your normal baseline, merits medical assessment.
Symptoms: If low blood pressure is making you dizzy, faint, fatigued, confused, nauseous, or causing other impairing or debilitating effects, seek medical care even if your readings are not extremely low. Symptoms matter more than numbers.
Emergencies: Sudden drops in blood pressure into very low danger zones like 80/50 mm Hg or below, especially with symptoms like fainting, irregular heart rhythm, chest pain, difficulty breathing, or unresponsiveness, can constitute a medical crisis requiring ER care.
Older adults: Hypotension can be more common and problematic in seniors due to the increased likelihood of associated underlying conditions, so doctors may monitor and manage even moderately low readings more proactively.
Certain pre-existing illnesses: Those with diabetes, heart conditions, Parkinson’s, and autonomic disorders may require earlier medical intervention for blood pressure drops within the low end of normal ranges if the readings are relative hypotension for their baseline.

Do not hesitate to discuss with your doctor if you feel unwell or impaired due to low BP, as proper treatment can dramatically improve symptoms and quality of life.

What Causes Chronic Low Blood Pressure in Adults?

In healthy adults without underlying medical conditions, the most common lifestyle-related triggers for low blood pressure are:

Dehydration – Inadequate fluid intake can reduce blood volume, which lowers pressure. Certain medications like diuretics exacerbate dehydration.
Prolonged bed rest – Inactivity for extended periods can cause pressure drops.
Nutritional deficiencies – Lack of adequate protein, vitamin B12 or folate can decrease RBC production and lower blood pressure.
Alcohol and tobacco use – Excess alcohol suppresses adrenal function while smoking damages blood vessels, both can result in BP drops.
Insufficient caloric intake – Inadequate calorie consumption can impair adrenal function and lead to low BP.

In older adults, low blood pressure is much more frequently a result of secondary causes like:

Medication Side Effects

Many common medications can lower BP including:

Diuretics – Reduced fluid volume lowers blood pressure.
Beta-blockers – Slows heart rate and reduces force of contractions.
ACE inhibitors – Relaxes blood vessels.
Calcium channel blockers – Relaxes vascular smooth muscle.
Parkinson’s medications – Acts on autonomic nerves regulating BP.
Tricyclic antidepressants – Inhibits peripheral alpha-receptors that constrict blood vessels.
Alcohol – Has a depressant effect, causes vasodilation.
Pain medications – Vasodilatory effects of NSAIDs.

Heart or Endocrine Conditions

Bradycardia – Slow heart rate reduces cardiac output.
Heart valve disorders – Leaking or narrow valves decrease pumping efficiency.
Heart failure – Impairs heart’s ability to circulate blood.
Hypothyroidism – Thyroid hormone deficiency slows metabolism.
Addison’s disease – Adrenal insufficiency reduces cortisol, aldosterone, and epinephrine.

Dehydration

Older adults are more prone to dehydration due to reduced thirst sensation, medication side effects, and medical problems.

Sepsis

Widespread infection can result in dangerously low BP from systemic inflammation and reduced vascular tone.

Neurologic Disorders

Autonomic neuropathy – Nerve damage interferes with blood vessel constriction.
Parkinson’s disease – Impairs regulation of BP due to autonomic dysfunction.
Dementia – Can make managing adequate fluid/salt intake difficult.

Nutritional Deficiencies

Common in the elderly, low vitamin B12, folate or iron reduces red blood cell production and oxygen carrying capacity.

How Do Doctors Diagnose Chronic Low Blood Pressure?

To appropriately diagnose hypotension, identify underlying causes, and guide treatment, doctors will typically:

Measure BP over multiple visits – Confirms consistently low readings rather than one-off drops.
Review medications – Check for BP-lowering side effects.
Ask about symptoms – Severity, timing, and triggers of symptoms indicates causes.
Conduct a physical exam – Assess signs of dehydration and listen to heart.
Order blood tests – Checks blood counts, electrolytes, kidney function, hormones, and markers of infection.
Evaluate with ECG, chest x-ray, CT scan – Further evaluate heart, lungs and vital organs.
Refer to cardiologist – Those with unexplained hypotension may need specialized cardiac assessments.
Order tilt-table test – Measures BP response to postural change to diagnose blood pressure dysregulation disorders like orthostatic hypotension.
Do autonomic reflex screening – Assesses heart rate variability in response to deep breathing, valsalva maneuver, and head-up tilt via ECG.
Arrange 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring – Measures BP during normal daily activities rather than isolated clinic visits.

Depending on results, doctors may diagnose primary causes like dehydration, nutritional deficiencies, sepsis, cardiac dysfunction, or endocrine disorders. If no direct cause is found, they may diagnose dysautonomia conditions, like neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, which impair nervous system regulation of blood pressure.

How Can Low Blood Pressure Be Treated and Managed?

If symptoms of hypotension are significantly impacting quality of life, the following lifestyle changes, medications, and therapies may help:

Lifestyle Modifications

Increase fluid and salt intake – Boosts blood volume to raise BP. Broth, electrolyte drinks, and salty snacks help counter dehydration and overdiuresis from medications.
Wear compression garments – Compression stockings or abdominal binders improve venous blood return to the heart to increase cardiac output.
Raise the head of the bed – Lets gravity help blood flow to the brain at night.
Increase physical activity – With doctor approval, regular exercise helps maintain vascular tone. Avoid suddenly standing up after prolonged sitting.
Add more small meals – Prevents blood sugar and BP drops from long gaps without eating.

Medication Adjustments

Lower or discontinue diuretics – Decreases fluid loss if overdiuresis is substantially lowering blood volume.
Taper BP medications – Gradual reduction of hypotension-provoking drugs.
Add fludrocortisone – Raises blood volume and pressure through sodium retention.
Try midodrine – Helps constrict blood vessels to treat neurogenic and orthostatic hypotension.
Add beta-blockers – Improves heart’s ability to compensate for pressure drops.
Consider methylphenidate – Can help improve BP by increasing norepinephrine.
Treat contributing factors – Correcting hypothyroidism, vitamin deficiencies, heart disorders, and sepsis can all help stabilize BP.

Other Therapies

IV saline – Quickly restores blood volume in emergency hypotension situations.
Supplemental oxygen – Improves oxygen delivery to tissues when blood pressure is very low.
Tilt table training – Helps improve cardiovascular compensation to orthostatic changes in those with dysautonomia.
Avoid triggers – Heat, alcohol, and prolonged standing should be minimized.

If lifestyle changes and medication adjustment are ineffective at managing symptomatic hypotension, surgical options like cardiac pacemakers or intravenous ports can help in some instances. Seeking care from autonomic disorder specialists may also be beneficial.

When Is Low Blood Pressure a Life-Threatening Emergency?

Most cases of low blood pressure cause unpleasant but not dangerous symptoms. However, occasionally hypotension can drop to critically low, life-endangering levels requiring emergency medical treatment.

Seek immediate medical care if blood pressure drops severely along with concerning symptoms like:

Sudden loss of consciousness or fainting
Chest pain, irregular heart beat, or shortness of breath
Sudden, severe headache
Confusion, agitation, vision loss, or slurred speech
Pale, clammy, or blue-tinged skin

Extremely low blood pressure can deprive the brain and heart of necessary oxygen and nutrients, resulting in organ damage or cardiac arrest if not treated quickly.

Causes requiring emergency treatment include:

Septic Shock – Blood infections can cause pressure to plummet dangerously low.

Internal Bleeding – Bleeding from trauma or a ruptured aneurysm reduces circulating blood volume.

Heart Attack – Loss of heart muscle function can drastically lower BP.

Adrenal Crisis – Acute adrenal gland failure causes life-threatening hypotension.

Anaphylaxis – Whole-body allergic reaction massively dilates blood vessels.

Drug Overdose – Substances like opioid painkillers, sedative hypnotics, or calcium channel blockers.

First responders can provide lifesaving interventions for dangerously low BP like IV fluids, supplemental oxygen, and medications to constrict blood vessels. Identifying and promptly treating the underlying cause is also critical.

Hospitalization in an intensive care setting is usually required when blood pressure drops to profoundly low levels with end-organ effects. Once stabilized, follow-up with cardiology and primary care is important to prevent future episodes of crisis-level hypotension.

The Bottom Line

Blood pressure varies widely between healthy individuals, so there is no single threshold that defines hypotension. Readings below 90/60 mm Hg are often considered low but only warrant medical concern if they are accompanied by bothersome symptoms or are very severely low.

Doctors determine if chronically low pressure requires treatment based on an assessment of readings over time, symptom severity, contributing illnesses, age, and other patient factors. Underlying causes range from dehydration and medication side effects to serious conditions like heart disorders, sepsis, and autonomic impairment.

Lifestyle adjustments, medication changes, compression garments, and therapies for contributing medical problems can often effectively improve low BP. Severely low pressure constitutes a medical emergency requiring prompt treatment and hospitalization.

Consistently low blood pressure, especially with symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, blurred vision and cognitive issues, should be evaluated by a doctor who can help diagnose the cause and guide appropriate management. Achieving adequate control of hypotension can significantly increase quality of life.

Related Posts:

Also Read: