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Low Blood pressure- Ayurvedic Treatment, Diet, Exercises, Research Papers, Yoga & Pranayama

Introduction

Low Blood pressure is rather a symptom than a disease. The value of blood pressure to be called low, differs from person to person. Blood pressure is measured using an instrument called sphygmomanometer and the normal value of a young adult is 120/80 mm of Hg. As the blood flow in the blood vessels vary a lot due physiological and pathological factors, exact normal blood pressure is not always observed. The normal value also varies according to age, body weight etc. The blood pressure is considered low only when the person feels discomforts due to it. What’s considered low blood pressure for one person may be normal for someone else. Some experts define low blood pressure as readings lower than 90 mm Hg systolic or 60 mm Hg diastolic. If either number is below that, the blood pressure is lower than normal. A sudden fall in blood pressure can be dangerous. A change of just 20 mm Hg — a drop from 110 systolic to 90 mm Hg systolic, for example — can cause dizziness and fainting when the brain fails to receive enough blood. And big drops, such as those caused by uncontrolled bleeding, severe infections or allergic reactions, can be life-threatening.

Signs & symptoms

  • Dizziness or light-headedness
  • Fainting (syncope)
  • Dehydration and unusual thirst.
  • Dehydration can sometimes cause blood pressure to drop. However, dehydration does not always cause low blood pressure.
  • Lack of concentration.
  • Blurred vision.
  • Cold, clammy, pale skin.
  • Rapid, shallow breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Depression

Causes

Medical conditions that can cause low blood pressure include:

  • Pregnancy – Because the circulatory system expands rapidly during pregnancy, blood pressure is likely to drop. This is normal, and blood pressure usually returns to your pre-pregnancy level after you’ve given birth.
  • Heart problems – Some heart conditions that can lead to low blood pressure include extremely low heart rate (bradycardia), heart valve problems, heart attack and heart failure.
  • Endocrine problems – Parathyroid disease, adrenal insufficiency (Addison’s disease), low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and, in some cases, diabetes can trigger low blood pressure.
  • Dehydration – When your body loses more water than it takes in, it can cause weakness, dizziness and fatigue. Fever, vomiting, severe diarrhoea, overuse of diuretics and strenuous exercise can lead to dehydration.
  • Blood loss – Losing a lot of blood, such as from a major injury or internal bleeding, reduces the amount of blood in your body, leading to a severe drop in blood pressure.
  • Severe infection (septicaemia) – When an infection in the body enters the bloodstream, it can lead to a life-threatening drop in blood pressure called septic shock.
  • Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) – Common triggers of this severe and potentially life-threatening reaction include foods, certain medications, insect venoms and latex. Anaphylaxis can cause breathing problems, hives, itching, a swollen throat and a dangerous drop in blood pressure.
  • Lack of nutrients in your diet – A lack of the vitamin B-12, folate and iron can keep your body from producing enough red blood cells (anaemia), causing low blood pressure.
  • Age – Drops in blood pressure on standing or after eating occur primarily in adults older than 65. Neuro-mediated hypotension primarily affects children and younger adults.
  • Parkinson’s disease

Some medications can cause low blood pressure, including:

  • Water pills (diuretics), such as furosemide (Lasix) and hydrochlorothiazide (Microzide, others)
  • Alpha blockers, such as prazosin (Minipress)
  • Beta blockers, such as atenolol (Tenormin) and propranolol (Inderal, Innopran XL, others)
  • Drugs for Parkinson’s disease, such as pramipexole (Mirapex) or those containing levodopa
  • Certain types of antidepressants (tricyclic antidepressants), including doxepin (Silenor) and imipramine (Tofranil)
  • Drugs for erectile dysfunction, including sildenafil (Revatio, Viagra) or tadalafil (Adcirca, Alyq, Cialis), particularly when taken with the heart medication nitroglycerin (Nitrostat, others)

Pathophysiology

Types of low blood pressure

Low blood pressure (hypotension) is divided into categories, depending on the causes and other factors. Some types of low blood pressure include:

  • Low blood pressure on standing up (orthostatic or postural) hypotension). This is a sudden drop in blood pressure when you stand up from a sitting position or after lying down.

Gravity causes blood to pool in your legs when you stand. Ordinarily, your body compensates by increasing your heart rate and constricting blood vessels, thereby ensuring that enough blood returns to your brain.

But in people with orthostatic hypotension, this compensating mechanism fails and blood pressure falls, leading to dizziness, light-headedness, blurred vision and even fainting.

Orthostatic hypotension can occur for various reasons, including dehydration, prolonged bed rest, pregnancy, diabetes, heart problems, burns, excessive heat, large varicose veins and certain neurological disorders.

A number of medications also can cause orthostatic hypotension, particularly drugs used to treat high blood pressure — diuretics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors — as well as antidepressants and drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease and erectile dysfunction.

Orthostatic hypotension is especially common in older adults, but it also affects young, otherwise healthy people who stand up suddenly after sitting with their legs crossed for long periods or after squatting for a time.

  • Low blood pressure after eating (postprandial hypotension).

This drop in blood pressure occurs one to two hours after eating and affects mostly older adults.

Blood flows to your digestive tract after you eat. Ordinarily, your body increases your heart rate and constricts certain blood vessels to help maintain normal blood pressure. But in some people these mechanisms fail, leading to dizziness, faintness and falls.

Postprandial hypotension is more likely to affect people with high blood pressure or autonomic nervous system disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.

Eating small, low-carbohydrate meals; drinking more water; and avoiding alcohol might help reduce symptoms.

  • Low blood pressure from faulty brain signals (neuro-mediated hypotension). This disorder, which causes a blood pressure drop after standing for long periods, mostly affects young adults and children. It seems to occur because of a miscommunication between the heart and the brain.
  • Low blood pressure due to nervous system damage (multiple system atrophy with orthostatic hypotension). Also called Shy-Drager syndrome, this rare disorder has many Parkinson disease-like symptoms. It causes progressive damage to the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and digestion. It’s associated with having very high blood pressure while lying down.

Diagnosis

The goal in testing for low blood pressure is to find the cause. It includes medical history, physical examination and laboratory findings.

  • Blood tests. To check low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia), high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia or diabetes) or a low red blood cell count (anaemia).
  • Electrocardiogram (ECG). To detect irregularities in your heart rhythm, structural problems in the heart, and problems with the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. It can also diagnose a heart attack or have had one in the past.
  • Tilt table test. It can check low blood pressure on standing or from faulty brain signals (neuro-mediated hypotension), a tilt table test can evaluate how the body reacts to changes in position.

Treatments

Low blood pressure that either doesn’t cause signs or symptoms or causes only mild symptoms rarely requires treatment.

If you have symptoms, treatment depends on the cause. For instance, when medication causes low blood pressure, treatment usually involves changing or stopping the medication or lowering the dose.

If it’s not clear what’s causing low blood pressure or no treatment exists, the goal is to raise your blood pressure and reduce signs and symptoms. Depending on your age, health and the type of low blood pressure you have, you can do this in several ways:

  • Use more salt. Experts usually recommend limiting salt in your diet because sodium can raise blood pressure, sometimes dramatically. For people with low blood pressure, that can be a good thing.

But because excess sodium can lead to heart failure, especially in older adults, it’s important to check with your doctor before increasing the salt in your diet.

  • Drink more water. Fluids increase blood volume and help prevent dehydration, both of which are important in treating hypotension.
  • Wear compression stockings. The elastic stockings commonly used to relieve the pain and swelling of varicose veins can help reduce the pooling of blood in your legs.

Some people tolerate elastic abdominal binders better than they do compression stockings.

  • Medications. Several medications can be used to treat low blood pressure that occurs when you stand up (orthostatic hypotension). For example, the drug fludrocortisone, which boosts your blood volume, is often used to treat this form of low blood pressure.

Midodrine (Orvaten) to raise standing blood pressure levels in people with chronic orthostatic hypotension. It works by restricting the ability of your blood vessels to expand, which raises blood pressure.

Prognosis

The prognosis for individuals with jaundice depends on the underlying cause of the condition. There are certain conditions that carry an excellent prognosis with individuals making a full recovery. However, more serious causes of jaundice can sometimes be fatal despite medical or surgical intervention. The development and severity of complications will also determine an individual’s prognosis, as will a patient’s underlying health and comorbidities (presence of other diseases). Therefore, a case-by-case assessment by your health care professional is necessary in order to determine a more accurate prognosis.

Complications

Even moderate forms of low blood pressure can cause dizziness, weakness, fainting and a risk of injury from falls.

And severely low blood pressure can deprive your body of enough oxygen to carry out its functions, leading to damage to your heart and brain.

Disease & Ayurveda

There is no disease directly named as hypotension or low BP. As it is a condition affecting the normal physiology & circulatory system, the doshavrddhikshayalakshanas should be considered. As the signs and symptoms are compared, Kapha-vaatakshaya and pittavruddhi(Decreased Kapha and Vaata, Increased Pitta) resemble the condition of hypotension.

Nidana

Food and habits & behaviour causing increase of Pitta

Lack of food and routine for increase of Kapha & Vaata

Purvaaroopa

         Not mentioned

Samprapti

         As the Kapha & Vatta doshas are in ksheenavastha, Pitta with its excess heat, destroys the ojas (vital strength in the body) and cause the symptoms.

Lakshana

         Glani    – Fatigue

Indriyadourballyam – Weakness of sense organs

Thrishna            – Excessive thirst

Moorccha         – Fainting/giddiness

Kriyakshayam – Inability to do works/movements

Divisions

         Not mentioned

Prognosis

         Not mentioned

Chikithsa

Samana

Aamapachana

Agnideepana

Brumhana

Sodhana

Virechana after aamavastha

Commonly used medicines

                  Drakshadi kashayam

Mridweekadi kashayam

Draksharishtam

Dhatryarishtam

Punarnavasavam

Chyavanaprasam

Brands available

         AVS Kottakal

AVP Coimbatore

SNA Oushadhasala

Vaidyaratnam oushadhasala

Home remedies

  • Drink more water, less alcohol. Alcohol is dehydrating and can lower blood pressure, even if you drink in moderation. Water, on the other hand, fights dehydration and increases blood volume.
  • Pay attention to your body positions. Gently move from a prone or squatting to a standing position. Don’t sit with your legs crossed.
  • Eat small, low-carb meals. To help prevent blood pressure from dropping sharply after meals, eat small portions several times a day and limit high-carbohydrate foods such as potatoes, rice, pasta and bread.
  • Exercise regularly. Aim for 30 to 60 minutes a day of exercise that raises your heart rate and resistance exercises two or three days a week. Avoid exercising in hot, humid conditions.

Diet

  • To be avoided

Heavy meals and difficult to digest foods – cause indigestion.

Junk foods- cause disturbance in digestion and reduces the bioavailability of the medicine

Carbonated drinks – makes the stomach more acidic and disturbed digestion

Refrigerated and frozen foods – causes weak and sluggish digestion by weakening agni (digestive fire)

Curd – causes vidaaha and thereby many other diseases

  • To be added

Light meals and easily digestible foods

Green gram, soups, buttermilk boiled with turmeric, ginger and curry leaves

Freshly cooked and warm food processed with cumin seeds, ginger, black pepper, ajwain etc

Behaviour:

Better to avoid exposure to excessive sunlight wind rain or dust.

Avoid lifting heavy weights and other vigorous physical activities.

Maintain a regular food and sleep schedule.

Avoid bath in cold water immediately after exercise. Allow body to be in normal temperature.

Yoga

During the fluctuations of BP, exercises or any change in body posture are not recommended.

After gaining normal health, stretching exercises, meditation for relaxation and following a specific Yogacharya with yoga asanas like suryanamaskara, pavanamuktasana, vajrasana, etc are recommended for improving circulation and digestion.

Regular exercise helps improve bioavailability of the medicine and food ingested and leads to positive health.

Yoga can maintain harmony within and with surroundings.

Suryanamaskara

Pavanamuktasana

Vajrasana

All the exercises and physical exertions must be decided and done under the supervision of a medical expert only.

Research articles

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10805049/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27767292/

 

 

 

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Dr. Rajesh Nair
Licensed Ayurvedic doctor focused on providing individual Ayurvedic consultation services. Specialized in work related stress, Womens’ issues, diabetes, Pecos, arthritis, male and female sexual problems and infertility. Interested in academic work as well. Now working with www.ayurvedaforall.com as senior consultant, Ayurveda.

Dr. Rajesh Nair

Licensed Ayurvedic doctor focused on providing individual Ayurvedic consultation services. Specialized in work related stress, Womens’ issues, diabetes, Pecos, arthritis, male and female sexual problems and infertility. Interested in academic work as well. Now working with www.ayurvedaforall.com as senior consultant, Ayurveda.

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