What causes high and low blood pressure, and what are the symptoms of high and low blood pressure?

4 Comments

1. short2stuff1922 says:

   August 21, 2009 at 3:48 am

   These two types of blood pressure very from person to person. High blood pressure can come from:
   Thyroid problems-this rises the pressure above normal and causes the heart to over work, thus causing it to grow in size (Enlarged Heart) which the walls of the outer muscle will "pinch" the heart and leaving no space for the heart to function properly. This will cause discomfort on the left side, irregular heart beats, bradycardia (sloww heart), shortness of breath, and tiredness that is frequent.
   Too much sodium-Salt is one of the most causes of high blood pressure. Food does come natually salted, but people love to "over salt" their foods. Even though McDonalds pours salt on the fries many add extra for the taste which in time will cause heart problems.
   Constant stress,tensions,forced activities-Some times a person feels great exercizing.But you have to watch, because even though exercise is good for the heart, over doing it and going beyond the bodies limits will cause the heart to over work, rising up the flow of the blood thus causing the pressure to rise more than normal. This constant unessesary rise will later convert to high blood pressure that will not go down unless medication is used.
   For thyroid problems Sintroid and Levoxil are just two of the medications to take along with Vasotec,Norvasc and other medication that will reduce the pressure and ge the thyroids functioning properly. This goes along with a well balanced diet. This diet is eliminating at least more than half the added salt, no sodas, less starchy foods, and no salty snacks such as chips, Doritos and the rest.
   Low blood pressure is no rare. Many people have low blood pressure because they are always active, don’t spend the day infront of the tv, eat lots of fruits,veggies and rest properly. Also this is in a few cases hereditary. Low blood pressure will make a person feel cooler on a hot day more than a person with high blood pressure. For those with low blood pressure, there is realy no problem because the pressure will remain normal such as 100/80,90/75 these are normal if the person all their lives have been like this. But for a person who is always 120/80 or more then this sudden low blood pressure means there is trouble. The rate of the heart pumping blood through the body is slow. The heart has the left and right ventricals. Blood goes through the ventricals and as it goes through there are like little valves that work as is they were like gates. The bottom one opens lets a flow of blood through, then closes so the upper one opens and lets the blood continue to flow. Here the blood that flows in and out of the heart is read by the blood pressure. People with low blood pressure feel normal and carry on normal every day lives. But still, they will have to do monitoring at least once a day to keep an eye on any changes.
   High blood pressure symptoms no matter what the cause is: shortness of breath, dizzyness, heat spells, fainting, heart beats irregular, blood flows faster forcing the heart to work more and you will in most people feel like the back of your neck is stiff and hurting, your left side will feel numb, the left side of the chest will hurt, and you feel as if your chest will explode. Some say that if they touch their chest it hurts-this is not a sympton. It does not hurt to the touch, this is just inflamation, but it will hurt without touching and it will be deep inside the chest in the center.
   Low blood pressure-if not in a normar person with it will cause dizzyness, fainting, hard of breathing but only if it is not a normal thing for a person. I know of many with normal low blood pressure and are active people. For one that does not have normal low pressure all their lives, means that the heart is slow and a possibility of a pace maker or surgery may be performed to correct this. A heart murmer for one, will be also a cause for low blood pressure in some people. Chest pains will be present. But in all cases it does not hurt anyone to take their blood pressure and monitor it once a day. Now just because a person has 120/80 in the morning and at noon has 130/90, this is because of the stress of the morning, too much coffee which does cause high blood pressure and too much of being over worked will cause it to rise. If a persons pressure is normaly 80/75 and it does go up to 120/80 then this person also will have to go to a doctor because this is not normal. 120/80 is normal for all but there are people with normal readings of under 120/80. My husbands norma reading is 90/75 for him this is normal and his heart if good as new and he feels great, eats less of salt foods and does get his rest as needed. Me on the other hand, I suffer non-normal high blood pressure mine will go up 159/100. I do take medication 3 kinds and also throid medication, reduce my salt intake, walk a lot, but still I won’t go down and I do have an enlarged heart that on my left side does hurt, and I do always have the symptoms, but I do take
2. Voicu says:

   August 21, 2009 at 3:48 am

   High BP – Hypertension can be classified as either essential (primary) or secondary. Essential hypertension indicates that no specific medical cause can be found to explain a patient’s condition. About 90-95% of hypertension is essential hypertension. Secondary hypertension indicates that the high blood pressure is a result of (i.e., secondary to) another condition, such as kidney disease or tumours (adrenal adenoma or pheochromocytoma).
   Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic renal failure.Even moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy.

   Low BP – This is best understood as a physiologic state, rather than a disease. It is often associated with shock, though not necessarily indicative of it. Hypotension is the opposite of hypertension, which is high blood pressure. Hypotension can be life-threatening.
   Reduced blood volume, called hypovolemia, is the most common mechanism producing hypotension. This can result from hemorrhage, or blood loss; insufficient fluid intake, as in starvation; or excessive fluid losses from diarrhea or vomiting. Hypovolemia is often induced by excessive use of diuretics. Other medications can produce hypotension by different mechanisms.
   Decreased cardiac output despite normal blood volume, due to severe congestive heart failure, large myocardial infarction, or bradycardia, often produces hypotension and can rapidly progress to cardiogenic shock. Arrhythmias often result in hypotension by this mechanism. Beta blockers can cause hypotension both by slowing the heart rate and by decreasing the pumping ability of the heart muscle. Varieties of meditation and/or other mental-physiological disciplines can create temporary hypotension effects, as well, and should not be considered unusual.

   Excessive vasodilation, or insufficient constriction of the resistance blood vessels (mostly arterioles), causes hypotension. This can be due to decreased sympathetic nervous system output or to increased parasympathetic activity occurring as a consequence of injury to the brain or spinal cord or of dysautonomia, an intrinsic abnormality in autonomic system functioning. Excessive vasodilation can also result from sepsis, acidosis, or medications, such as nitrate preparations, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin II receptor inhibitors or ACE inhibitors. Many anesthetic agents and techniques, including spinal anesthesia and most inhalational agents, produce significant vasodilation.
3. Kim W says:

   August 21, 2009 at 3:48 am

   blood pressure is called the silent killer go to target and buy there only b/p cuff they sell for a measly $22.00 it is automatic press a button after slip on the cuff above your elbow. it records also date and b/p! low b/p–you get dizzy upon rising high b/p– headaches, grouchier than heck avoid to much caffeine salt and no energy drinks do a low fat diet and reduce weight esp low salt to none! and excerise!
4. clapper says:

   August 21, 2009 at 3:48 am

   Think of everyone on the planet as a walking pump with lots of tubes. High blood pressure can come from pumping too hard and too fast when we don’t need it.
   Low blood pressure is when the pump is not pumping as fast as you need it to be.
   When I was a kid in hospital and my heart was belting away the nurses would say"just relax"." I was already in bed doing nothing what else was I supposed to do." Narrowing of the tubes could cause high pressure and if it gets too high something has to blow.
   If one of the big tubes blows lots of liquid leeks out every time the pump pumps if a little tube blows a bit of will leak out. If a tube is almost blocked then there may well be reduced flow on the other side of the blockage. So you can exhibit both high and low pressure symptoms
   "I hope you paid your ambulance money this year"
   Adrenaline
   This is what the body uses to tell muscles to fire. Alpha adrenaline is for running quick and quite a lot of the body needs a bit of Alpha to keep it running. The pump (heart muscle) needs to keep going even when the body is not running and beta adrenaline does a wonderful job. Inappropriate Adrenaline production too little too much wrong sort. Quick get out the Ace Inhibitors the Beta Blockers and the Lipitor to keep the pipes clean.
   If you take ace inhibitors you often feel dizzy when you stand quickly that’s low blood pressure not providing enough blood too the brain. You can also get purple lips, cold extremities,listlessness, shortness of breath.
   High b p = head aches, don’t forget chest pain bulging blood vessels red face tiredness irregular heart beat bleeding from nose "oh no that’s close to the brain"
   Then there’s the electrical circuit that keeps each bit of the pump firing at the right time and strength
   I’m starting to write an essay so I will stop but its a big question