Low blood pressure, or hypotension, occurs when the force of blood against artery walls is too low, typically below 90/60 mm Hg. Several factors and conditions can cause blood pressure to drop:
- Dehydration: When the body lacks enough water, blood volume decreases, leading to lower blood pressure. This can result from fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or overuse of diuretics
- Heart-related issues: Conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, heart valve problems, or a slow heart rate (bradycardia) can reduce the heart's ability to pump blood effectively, causing low blood pressure
- Hormonal and endocrine disorders: Diseases like Addison’s disease, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), diabetes, and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can disrupt hormone balance and lower blood pressure
- Blood loss: Significant bleeding from injury or internal sources reduces blood volume, leading to a sharp drop in blood pressure
- Severe infections and allergic reactions: Septic shock from bloodstream infections and anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction) can cause dangerous decreases in blood pressure
- Nutritional deficiencies: Lack of vitamin B12, folate, or iron can cause anemia, reducing the number of healthy red blood cells and lowering blood pressure
- Medications: Some drugs, including diuretics, beta blockers, alpha blockers, Parkinson’s disease medications, antidepressants, and erectile dysfunction drugs, can cause low blood pressure as a side effect
- Other factors: Pregnancy (due to blood vessel expansion), prolonged bed rest, standing for long periods, heat exhaustion, stress, and genetic predisposition can also contribute to low blood pressure
In summary, low blood pressure results from decreased blood volume, weakened heart function, hormonal imbalances, blood loss, infections, allergic reactions, nutritional deficiencies, medication effects, and other physiological or environmental factors
