What is low blood pressure?
Each heartbeat pushes blood through your arteries. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to your body. Blood pressure is the pressure of blood in your arteries. Normal blood pressure keeps blood flowing through your body. High blood pressure High Blood Pressure read more strains your heart and can damage your arteries and other organs. Low blood pressure also can be dangerous.
How is blood pressure measured?
What causes low blood pressure?
What are the symptoms of low blood pressure?
Symptoms may include:
If your low blood pressure isn't treated, you may go into shock Shock Shock is a medical emergency caused by your organs not getting enough blood and oxygen. It has nothing to do with the "shock" we feel when something scares or upsets us. When your body can't... read more and even die.
How can doctors tell if I have low blood pressure?
How do doctors treat low blood pressure?
Doctors need to treat the cause of low blood pressure. For example, if you're bleeding, they may do surgery to stop it. If you have an infection, they'll give you antibiotics. But whatever the cause, they need to raise your blood pressure.
The main treatment to raise your blood pressure is:
If you've lost a lot of blood, doctors may give you:
If your blood pressure is still low after you've had enough IV fluids and blood to fill up your blood vessels, doctors may give you medicines to raise your blood pressure. These medicines make your heart beat harder and make your blood vessels narrower. These medicines can be dangerous, so you'll be watched very closely while receiving them.
