Salt increased my Blood Pressure

[Sam123]

Hi All, 

Only I have query about considering salt for fast HR and low BP. My blood pressure is usually in the range 90/60 to 110/70. My heart rate increases upon standing as my BP decreases upon standing by 10 to 15 points. I tried increasing salt intake but I noticed some days my blood pressure is 140/90 to 150/90 in the afternoon. In the night it returns to its normal range. Is this normal? I consume about 1 teaspoon daily.   Now I stopped taking salt but my BP is low, which causes fatigue and lightheadedness especially in the morning. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[Missy M]

You might try analyzing if there are any other triggers which might be raising your blood pressure. For example, caffeine intake? Cold temperatures? Body position? 

It’s winter where I live. In my case, the cold air will raise my blood pressure by 40-50 if I don’t put on my heated jacket. It’s battery powered and heats like an electric blanket does. I specifically use it to lower my blood pressure in cold places such as my somewhat drafty church building. (And in the summer heat I use a cooling vest for the opposite reasons). 

In my situation, standing too long or trying to be too aerobic will usually crash my blood pressure but on occasion will spike it upwards (it’s unpredictable). That’s what I meant by body position.

Caffeine will raise my blood pressure. I use it intentionally to raise it if it’s too low but make a point to avoid it if my bp is too high (or is running in a good moderate range).

These are the possibilities I look at when my bp spikes too high.

 

Edited January 22, 2018 by Missy M

[Sam123]

Thanks a lot @Missy M for sharing your experience. Yes, it could be excessive caffeine intake. I suspected that small amount of salt can do that. 

[Pistol]

Could it be that maybe your meds could have something to do with it? If you take any medications that influence HR or BP? I know that I had spikes of BP at certain times of the day and when the times of  meds were changed (or they were changed to extended - release doses) the spikes improved.  

[Clb75]

It’s normal for blood pressure to fluctuate during the day, it has its own cycle. Typically it is lowest at night, starts to rise during the day then tapers off again in the evening. With that said, if you think it’s salt related you could try backing down on the salt a little to see if you notice a difference. It’s a definite balance, getting enough to raise your BP without making it too high. 

[Peter Charlton]

My blood pressure seems to fluctuate for no apparent reason in the course of minutes. 120/81 then 147/85 then 128/87

[yogini]

Maybe you could try 1/3 teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon per day, so that you get some but not all of the effect.