The 11 Causes of Low Blood Pressure (Hypotension)

Low blood pressure is only considered a problem if it brings about negative side effects. Read more about the 9 symptoms of low blood pressure here; which can include low energy, lack of concentration, poor blood circulation leading to cold hands and feet, sensitivity to cold temperatures, nausea, fainting and more.

Blood pressure refers to the amount of pressure between blood and blood vessels, similar to the way that pressure allows water to flow through pipes and out of taps when opened. Low blood pressure may reduce the amount of blood made available to the rest of the body. Normal blood pressure should create a good blood flow without any blockage.

Why does blood pressure drop? 

Our blood pressure naturally fluctuates throughout the day. It should be the lowest at night before and during sleep, while increasing in the morning and slowly tapering off towards the end of the day. Changes in body position, breathing rate, stress level, physical activity and food or water consumption affect blood pressure. Overall health affects blood pressure as well - a healthier body is better able to regulate blood pressure and heart rate.

Causes of Low Blood Pressure:

1) Dehydration

Dehydration reduces blood volume and therefore blood pressure. This can result in weakness, vomiting, fainting and eventually death. You can get dehydrated from being in hot climates or exercising for too long with replenishing liquids. Illness is another cause for dehydration. Sweating and urination lead to water loss. It is also important to replenish electrolytes and minerals, not just water.

2) Loss of Blood

Sever blood loss can be fatal as blood pressure drops below what the body needs to circulate oxygen, nutrients and by-products like carbon dioxide. In healthy individuals, a small drop in blood pressure from a little blood loss through a cut or scrape is not potentially fatal - as long as the bleeding is stopped through a band aide or bandage as soon as possible.

3) Not Enough Nutrients

A lack of sodium and other electrolytes can reduce the body's ability to hold onto water and therefore decreases blood pressure. This is why it is important to replace electrolytes after strenuous exercise or sweating, or after diarrhea or vomiting. Other nutrients obtained through food are also important in maintaining blood volume. B vitamins, iron and folate are needed to produce red blood cells. Lack of these nutrients can lead to anemia and cause low blood pressure.

4) Poor Heart Health

Your heart is responsible for pumping blood through your body continuously. Blood pressure could drop as a result of a heart complication or poor hear health. Bradycardia, for example, is a slower-than-normal heart rate which decreases the amount of times that blood is pumped throughout the body. Other heart problems like heart attacks and heart failure dramatically decrease blood pressure.

5) Unbalanced Hormones

Hormones have a large effect of blood pressure. The thyroid hormone regulates heart rate, body temperature, metabolism and blood pressure. According to Mayo Clinic, thyroid conditions like parathyroid disease, adrenal insufficiency (Addison's disease), low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and diabetes can trigger low blood pressure.

6) Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening, allergic reaction to a specific food, medication or insect bite. Anaphylaxis causes breathing problems, itching, a swollen throat, hives and a potentially dangerous drop in blood pressure.

7)  Septic Shock

Spesis, or septicemia, occurs when an infection spreads to the blood and then spreads throughout the rest of body. This can drop blood pressure down to life-threatening levels.

8) Pregnancy

Blood pressure can drop during pregnancy as circulatory systems rapidly expand. Blood pressure should start returning to normal after giving birth.

9) Drugs and Medication

Certain drugs can cause blood pressure to drop. These include diuretics, drugs used to lower high blood pressure, Parkinson's disease medication, some antidepressants, sexual enhancement drugs, other medications and some heart drugs.

Examples of these drugs include furosemide (Lasix), hydrochlorothiazide (Maxzide, Microzide), prazosin (Minipress), atenolol (Tenormin), propranolol (Inderal, Innopran XL), pramipexole (Mirapex), levodopa, doxepin (Silenor), imipramine (Tofranil), sildenafil (Revatio, Viagra), tadalafil (Adcirca, Cialis) and nitroglycerin.

10) Standing (Orthostatic or Postural Hypotension)

When blood pressure drops after moving from a seated or lying position to a standing position, it is called orthostatic or postural hypotension. In these cases, blood pressure drops when you stand up after a relatively long period of time.

Blood pressure can also drop when standing for too long, as gravity pulls blood to the lower parts of the body. This is usually regulated by constricting blood vessels and increasing heart rate, but people with orthostatic hypertnsion can get dizzy or light headed after standing for too long because the body is not bale to regulate the drop in blood pressure properly. In severe cases, this can lead to fainting.

Neurally Mediated Hypotension 

Neurally mediated hypotension can also lead to low blood pressure from standing for too long. This happens because of distorted brain signalling which creates a miss-connect between the brain, heart and legs.

11) Food Intake (postprandial hypotension)

Postprandial hypotension is a condition that refers to dropped blood pressure after a meal. This happens because blood is directed to the digestive system after eating for the digestive process to take place. The body usually regulates this by increasing heart rate and constricting blood vessels. Postprandial hypotension refers to the failure of these mechanisms to increase blood pressure after the drop from food intake. Ironically, postprandial hypotension is more common in people with high blood pressure. Eating smaller meals more regularly, instead of larger meals less often, may help to reduce the effects of postprandial hypotension.


If you feel like your blood pressure is too low or too high, consult with your medical practitioner immediately. Stay Strong!

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9 Signs and side effects of low blood pressure (hypotension)

There are signs and symptoms that you can use to determine whether your blood pressure is too low.

Since high blood pressure is so common, it is possible to overlook the dangers of low blood pressure. According to WebMD, normal blood pressure is anything below 120/80. Having blood pressure that is a little lower than average is okay, and many people with lower than usual blood pressure don't experience any negative symptoms. Blood pressure that is too low, though, can lead to symptoms like dizziness, fainting and death. According to Mayo Clinic, anything below 90/60 is considered low blood pressure. Low blood pressure is only considered to be a problem when negative symptoms appear as a result. Many times, there are no negative side effects.

Normal blood pressure is anything between 90/60 and 120/80.

Blood pressure is measured in two numbers, systolic and diastolic. The first one, systolic, measures the pressure of blood against blood vessels when pressure is at its highest: when the heart beats and pushes blood through vessels. Diastolic blood pressure measures the pressure of blood when the heart relaxes before beating again.

Symptoms of low blood pressure

Common symptoms of low blood pressure include:

1. Weakness and fatigue

Our whole body needs nutrients and oxygen. Oxygen is our primary source of energy. It is converted into carbon dioxide and the energy that is released during this conversion is used to power our cardio-vascular energy systems. A decrease in blood pressure leads to a decrease in flood flow or blood circulation. This, in turn, decreases the amount of oxygen and nutrients that our organs can use to create energy.

2. Lack of concentration

For the same reason listed above, low blood pressure can result in less oxygen reaching the brain, leading to decreased mental performance and ability.

3. Cold hands and feet

This happens because of lowered blood circulation, which regulates body temperature. Blood carries warmth. When we are hot, our skin goes red because blood is moved closer to the surface of the skin so that the excess heat can dissipate. When we are cold, we go pale because the warm blood is held closer to our core to keep our internal organs warm. Low blood pressure decreases blood circulation, which limits the amount of warm blood that reaches extremities like the hands and feet.

4. Higher sensitivity to cold temperatures

Lower blood pressure often results in lower body temperature, since less blood is pumped throughout the body. This results in a greater sensitivity to the cold. People with lower body temperatures struggle more to generate body heat.

5. Tiredness after eating

People with low blood pressure may experience tiredness and fatigue after eating food as blood is redirected to be the digestive system.

6. Blurred Vision

Your vision can become blurred because of a lack of oxygen from the blood to the eyes and the brain.

7. Nausea

Nausea is also a common symptom associated with low blood pressure. It is linked to symptoms of dehydration and loss of important electrolytes and minerals.

8. Dizziness and feeling light headed

Dizziness and feeling light headed occurs when you have low blood pressure because not enough oxygen-rich blood reaches to the brain. Abrupt changes in blood pressure is why many people feel light headed or dizzy after doing certain exercises like squats and dead lifts. People with low blood pressure often feel light headed after standing for long periods of time as well.

9. Fainting 

Fainting because of lack of oxygen to the brain is known as syncope. This can be caused by low blood pressure, along with other reasons like a decreased heart rate or loss of blood.

Severe hypotension can lead to death

If blood pressure drops too low, it can be fatal. Fatality through low blood pressure usually occurs because of severe blood loss, extremely low amounts of electrolytes and minerals, too much of a certain chemical or toxin, or because of disease.

If you suspect that your blood pressure is too low, consult your medical practitioner. Stay Strong!

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Do fitness trackers cause cancer?

Fitness trackers have taken the world by storm. The ability to monitor everything from the steps you take to the amount of high quality sleep you get and the amount of exercise you do has made the recording of personal progress as simple as looking at your watch or tapping on your phone. Since the people that would most want to use these devices are the ones who are most concerned about their health, an obvious question would be about whether they have any negative health effects.

Can fitness trackers cause cancer?

The mechanism used by fitness trackers to transmit information is very similar to that used by mobile phones. They do this using something called non-ionizing radio frequencies or radiation (RF). Radiation is a scary word, but the sun's rays and our own body heat emit a form of radiation. Some forms of radiation can cause cancers, whiles others don't. Since the form of radiation emitted by tracking devices is non-ionizing, the energy is not strong enough to alter molecules or atoms. They do, however, make electrons go into a higher energetic state. Forms of radiation that alter molecules are the ones that cause mutation and cancer. The radiation from fitness trackers doesn't directly change your molecular structure, but they do energize electrons. This means that the cancer-causing risk of these devices are low... but not absent.

The World Health Organisation states that mobile phones are possibly carcinogenic because of the long-term radiation that they emit. More research needs to be done, since mobile phones have not been around for as long as we think and cancer takes a long time to form. This makes it very hard to study and draw definitive links between the two. More research is currently being done. The radiation in these devices is relatively low. There are bodies like the FCC that closely monitor the amount of radiation emitted from consumer devices to make sure that they stay within pre-determined limits. Fitness trackers emit far less radiation than mobile phones.

Should we be wearing fitness trackers all day long?

Fitness Finest explains that researchers have pointed out that the increase in mobile phone usage without an increase in brain cancers shows that there might not be a link between the two. They also say that since fitness trackers emit even less radiation, long-term cancer should be 'the least of your worries for now'. They also say that the unproven cancer risk of wearing one of these devices is far less than the risk of diseases caused by living a sedentary lifestyle. If you live a healthier lifestyle than what you would without a fitness tracker, you would be better off wearing one.

The New York Times quotes Dr. Joseph Mercola, who has had a lot of focus on the connection between mobile phones and cancer. Dr. Joseph Mercola says that as long as the fitness tracker does not have 3G capabilities, the cancer-causing effects of fitness trackers are "minimal, if any". He says that fitness trackers with a 3G connection, though, would equate to having a phone strapped to your wrist permanently.

My verdict

I would look at whether or not wearing a fitness tracker encourages you to live a healthier lifestyle. If the answer is yes, then the known positive effects will outweigh the unknown negative health effects. If wearing one of these devices does not affect the amount of exercise you do, restful sleep you get or the food you eat, there is not much point in using one anyway.

I am looking forward to reading what you have to say about whether or not you think fitness trackers can cause cancer in your comments below. Stay Strong!

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How mental stress affects muscle growth

Do stress levels at work or home affect muscle growth? Absolutely - but there are things that you can do about it.

Cortisol

You've probably heard of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is released as a response to stress and one of its primary roles is to give your body the energy it needs to fight off or escape a potential threat. Cortisol stimulates energy production and immune response. Cortisol levels are naturally higher in the morning and taper off throughout the day until they reach their lowest before bed time and during sleep. This makes sure that you have the energy that you need throughout the day while ensuring that you can get the recovery that you need at night. People with cortisol levels that are too low have constant fatigue and vulnerable immune systems. Healthy cortisol levels are good for you, but too much is not good either. Your body needs periods of low stress (and lowered cortisol) to calm down and recover. Thinking about stressful things at night can increase cortisol levels, which puts your body into a fight-or-flight response when it needs to start the recovery process instead.

One of the benefits of regular exercise is that it teaches the body to deal with stress. Exercise improves the way that cortisol is used by providing an outlet for the energy that cortisol creates. It also ensures that we don't experience the negative effects of too much cortisol production. Exercise tricks our bodies into thinking that a potentially harmful (or stressful) situation is over and that it can go back into rest and recovery mode. Too much exercise, though, can elevate cortisol levels. Physical stress (or physical exertion) can also trigger the release of cortisol. In order to recover sufficiently, our bodies need periods of low stress to enter its rest mode. If mental stress from work and physical stress from exercise releases more cortisol than what your body can recover from, your body will spend too much time in overdrive and too little time in recovery. Exercise can help you to deal with mental stress, but only to a certain point until it becomes too much. How do you make sure that you aren't stressing more than what your body can handle? Make sure that you balance out overall stressful situations with relaxing ones. Mental tranquility triggers speedy physical recovery. There is nothing wrong with feeling a little stress every now and then, but you need to make sure that you make time to feel relaxed. You can do this by spending time with a loved one, enjoying a hobby or through positive reflection. Doing these things at night will increase sleep quality.

Tension

Tension is one of the ways that cortisol affects muscle tissue. Cortisol tenses muscles so that they are primed for action. In nature, this would help you to make the fast movements that you need to eat (catch prey) or avoid being eaten. Think of the muscular tension as your muscles' version of 'standby mode'. As great as this is for action, it's not so great for recovery. Your muscles need to get out of 'standby mode' and enter 'rest mode' to grow. Tensed muscles cannot recover as well and relaxed muscles. If mental stress increases muscular tension, they will take longer to recover from exercise.

Exercise can decrease tension caused by stress, but prolonged physical stimulus and increased tension from non-exercise stress without sufficient relaxation can severely decrease the amount of optimal recovery time that your muscles need. If you feel like your muscles are negatively affected by stress, here are 7 ways to decrease the effects of stress from work. If work stress creates muscular tension, exercising after work will release the tension and give you the evening and night's sleep to recover. Applying heat (like through a hot bath or sitting in the sauna), stretching regularly, massage and aromatherapy are great ways to relieve tension and speed up muscle recovery.

Poor decisions

Stress can also negatively impact muscle growth by negatively impacting the decisions that you make. Stress can cause us to make unhealthy decisions in an attempt to cope with that stress. Drinking alcohol negatively affects muscle growth, and so does smoking. Irregular sleeping habits and erratic diet choices are other ways that our attempts to cope with stress can lead to decisions that hamper muscle growth.

In the above ways, mental stress can have an indirectly negative affect on muscle growth. Some stress is not too bad, but when you stress more than you relax; you risk sacrificing muscle because of it. Stay Strong!

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