Almost half of all adults in the USA have hypertension, or hypertension, a situation that may result in stroke or coronary heart assault. Signs would possibly embody complications, nosebleeds, shortness of breath — or nothing in any respect. It’s usually referred to as the “silent killer.”
Much less acquainted is hypertension’s reverse: low blood strain, often known as hypotension. Researchers in the course of the previous half-century have debated the notion that the chance of loss of life declines as blood strain falls, after which will increase if it sinks beneath really useful ranges. This so-called J-curve thesis stays controversial.
Docs usually agree, nonetheless, that sure signs sign dangerously low ranges. These embody:
One trigger of those signs could also be an extreme dose of blood-pressure medicine, Richard Klasco, MD, writes within the New York Instances. “In case you have signs, your physician might lower your dose, discontinue considered one of your medicines, or change to a distinct remedy,” he notes. “Your physician also can consider whether or not you could have coronary heart issues or different situations that could be making your blood strain low.”
(For extra on managing blood strain, see “Understanding Blood Stress Pointers.”)
This text initially appeared as “The Highs — and Lows — of Blood Stress” within the January/February 2024 challenge of Expertise Life.
