What Is Normal Blood Pressure Anyways?

[houswoea]

Hi friends! Another question for you.

The other day I had my blood pressure taken at the doctor and it was 80/50. The lady asked if it was normal for me and I said that it was so erratic I really couldn't tell her. So she just shrugged and went on with things.

So... online it says like 110/70-130/90 is "normal" but what is normal for you guys? what is too low... they say because I'm young it's all good, but I figure if that were true I wouldn't be so sick all the time.

Also, does your BP go up and down at the drop of a dime? not with position changes, just at random? I just want to know what the heck is going on.

liz

[shanying418]

I have the same question! LOL Mine is mostly 102/67 when on meds. Without meds, it's about 95/60? I think your blood pressure is a bit too low though. My cardiac doctor said mine is too low and I'm in my early twenties.... My blood pressure do drop when first standing, it does pick up later. I'm not sure if it drop randomly...

Edited August 24, 2010 by flop
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[ana_22]

well before I got sick my BP was 90/60 and I felt fine! like super great! i was 27

now my BP is never that low, unless im laying down. now standing is 95/60 - 125/80 anywhere between that but usually 105/80 ish.

Im sure its about how much BP is in your head or how much blood is getting to your brain and that cant be measured using a BP machine.

ALSO im from Australia, but i was watching the news during the last US elections and Im sure they were talking about Pres Obamas health and he had his BP measured in front of the press at some Dr's office and it was 90/60. so surely that must be normal. They just said something about him being super relaxed before the election.

[comfortzone]

Hi!

Well the way I understand 'normal' blood pressure is that you want it less than 140/90 no matter your adult age, gender, ethnicity etc... I know that the top number is one that is a bit more likely to be variable in response to stressors - meaning it will rise if you are under a lot of tension for some people... The bottom number is thought by some to be 'more important' because it's the steady number - and if you are 'steady' at a high rate - this number being high is of greater consequence in causing health concerns to blossom if left untreated.

It's been thought that blood pressure over a lifetime can increase. So if you are approaching advanced age - your chances of having high blood pressure may be greater than a healthy 20 year old. The joys of aging! Blood pressure changes with blood volume too - if you are dehydrated your blood pressure can get lower.

In a day you blood pressure will fluctuate to a certain extent and that is on purpose or by design. If you exercise your blood pressure readings are generally a bit higher and thats okay if it returns to the normal range after rest. Or for some it will increase but not to hypertensive levels. Also your blood pressure varies as your body changes position - it's normal and by design. Going from lying - to sitting - to standing is a common way to measure blood pressure to see if you are dehydrated. Called "orthostatic blood pressure readings". Ideally you lay down for at least a few minutes and a reading is done - and a pulse checked. Next you sit for one full minute and the readings are taken, lastly you stand and the readings are taken.... If you are 'dry' you will have your blood pressure go low with standing and your pulse rise... You are then "orthostatic" Drink a liter or two and things equilibrate usually.

Hi blood pressure can cause diseases of your cerebrovascular system and your cardiovascular system - it can cause end organ damage and all kinds of things that are not good. A stroke is often a result of untreated high blood pressure. High blood pressure often has zero symptoms and it's tragic when the first time one knows about having had it is from a stroke.

Sometimes high or low blood pressure can cause symptoms. A headache can accompany either - but more often high blood pressure. Low blood pressure can have you feel dizzy or spacey or as if you are going to faint.

A blood pressure that varies much more than a few points up or down as a normal physiologic variance - is called labile blood pressure. A person can have high and low all in one day, day after day. This is never normal - just as high blood pressure is not normal.

From reading here it appears as though many have orthostatic intolerance or OI......a state where changes in position cause radical shifts in blood pressure that just don't happen in normal autonomic nervous systems I guess. So as the autonomic nervous system regulates blood pressure - it reasons that if it's whacky your blood pressure can veer off to whacky as well.

But there are many many reasons for whacky blood pressures that cardiology and nephrology and neurology and endocrinology can tease out with diagnostics. As it's all important to achieve normal levels it's important to get to the bottom of it. Some peoples vary more than 30 points with changes in position ~ and it isn't always the way you'd expect...

If you have a hyper-adrenergic response to position changes you can have an outpouring of hormones raising your blood pressure - when going from sit to stand - called orthostatic hypertension - the opposite of what most peoples bodies do.....

So it's complicated and I'm just learning because I have labile blood pressure and cannot get a handle on it yet -- pretty nerve wracking!

[houswoea]

Huh. Complicated. When she took it, I was sitting down... whatever, I guess!

But doesn't your height and weight make a difference to some extent? I'm a pretty small person... does that mean my blood pressure could be that low? I ask because during my TTT, my cardio guy said even when my blood pressure dropped, he could still feel my pulse, and that it was strange? lol

Thanks for helping me out... I'm trying to determine my next move in all of this, but I don't know what I should worry about and what I shouldn't.

[potsgirl]

A 'normal' BP is 120/80, and doesn't vary with size. People who work out a lot and are really in good shape will usually have a lower BP and pulse than the rest of the population. Healthy BP is 120/80 or below, to a certain extent. 80/50 is pretty low (close to bradycardia if you also have symptoms, althouogh my BP would drop into the low to mid 40s when standing), and could make you feel pretty poorly. If I'm supine, my BP is usually about 100/70 with a pulse of 60 (set by my pacemaker since I have bradycardia), but when I stand up my BP falls to about 75/60 with a pulse of about 110-125. This can cause fainting, and is called orthostatic hypotension, which is a form of dysautonomia.

[houswoea]

Huh. And the drop with the tachycardia is POTS, I understand. The electrophysiologist says what I have is "POTS-like" lol...

Thank you all for your help!

[flop]

Just to clarify a few medical terms:

Bradycardia = slow heart rate (<60/min)

Tachycardia = fast heart rate (>100/min at rest)

Hypotension = low blood pressure

Hypertension = high blood pressure

Postural = happens with a change in posture

Orthostatic = when standing still

POTS is defined as a rise in heart rate of 30 beats per minute or more on standing from lying.

People with POTS often have blood pressure problems, either too high, too low or a BP that swings all over the place. You can have any combination of fast or slow heart rate with either high or low blood pressure.

"Normal BP" is often quoted at 120/80 but to be honest hardly anyone in the world actually has that blood pressure. An individual's BP will vary a lot over the course of a day so doctors sometimes use a 24 hour BP monitor to try to get a picture of what your BP does over a wider timeframe than just during an office visit.

Doctors usually like the systolic BP (the higher of the two numbers) to be less than 135, and the diastolic (the lower number) to be less than 90. If you are diabetic or have known ischaemic heart disease then they may aim for a little lower than this.

Technically there isn't a number for BP that is "too low", it is much more based on symptoms. If you have a BP of 80/50 but feel well and active without going dizzy or lightheaded then it would be considered "normal for you" but other people may feel dreadful at pressures much higher than that.

Ultimately we are all unique and our HR and BP will do our own whacky dysautonomic thing. Generally it is helpful to know what your own "normal" HR and BP are. Taking your pulse regularly both lying, sitting and standing and after exertion can provide valuable information for your doctors. If you have your own BP machine then you can also measure your BP and know how it varies.

Flop

[houswoea]

Wow, that was helpful. Thank you!

All these doctors just tell me the name of whatever they think I have but then I have to try to figure out what it means myself. Thank goodness for all of you who know about these things!

Elizabeth