When is bp lowest

At times, continually low blood pressure or a sudden drop in blood pressure can lead to worrisome symptoms and even serious health problems. A blood pressure reading contains two numbers: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure.

Systolic pressure is the top, or first, number in your blood pressure reading ; it indicates the pressure within your arteries when your heart pumps out blood. Diastolic pressure is the bottom number, showing the pressure in your arteries while your heart is filling with blood.

Some adults regularly have blood pressure in the hypotensive range but have no symptoms and do not require treatment. In serious cases, though, hypotension can result in a decreased supply of oxygen and nutrients to your brain and other essential organs, which can eventually lead to life-threatening shock. Most doctors do not consider hypotension a problem unless it is associated with certain signs and symptoms:.

According to the AHA, there is no specific number at which day-to-day blood pressure is considered too low. However, when low blood pressure is accompanied by any of the above listed dangerous symptoms, it is time to seek medical care. While a slight difference can be fine, a greater difference may be a sign of a condition that needs….

It's known that Black Americans have higher rates of hypertension than other groups — but why? Learn the causes and ways to treat and prevent this…. Many people have it for years without knowing it. Learn more. Lifestyle changes can significantly reduce high blood pressure and even lower your risk of hypertension in the future. Learn how garlic and dark…. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Behring on May 5, Time of day Ways to measure Best practices Blood pressure ranges Takeaway Taking your blood pressure daily can be great way to monitor your health.

Learn how and when to check your blood pressure, along with other tips for best practices. When should you check your blood pressure? What are the different ways to measure blood pressure?

What are the best practices for getting an accurate reading? What is a healthy blood pressure reading? The takeaway. Read this next. See more conditions. Request Appointment. Blood pressure: Does it have a daily pattern? Products and services. Does blood pressure have a daily pattern? I've noticed that my blood pressure is always lower in the morning than in the afternoon. With Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.

Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Townsend RR, et al. Out-of-office blood pressure measurement: Ambulatory and self-measured blood pressure monitoring. Accessed March 31, Chokesuwattanasku A, et al. Impact of circadian blood pressure pattern on silent cerebral small vessel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Journal of the American Heart Association. Dadlani A, et al. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in clinical practice.

Indian Heart Journal. Jaeger BC, et al. Development of predictive equations for nocturnal hypertension and nondipping systolic blood pressure. Yang WY, et al. Association of office and ambulatory blood pressure with mortality and cardiovascular outcomes.

Smolensky MH, et al. Circadian mechanisms of hour blood pressure regulation and patterning. Sleep Medicine Reviews. Patterson PD, et al. Severe hypotension can increase the risk of organ damage and fainting due to the loss of oxygen-rich blood. Typically, a person can keep their blood pressure in the normal range by maintaining a healthy weight through a healthful diet that limits alcohol and salt intake, and by exercising regularly.

If they are having trouble with blood pressure, a doctor may be able to prescribe medication to help regulate it. There are two numbers in a blood pressure reading.

People often call these the upper systolic and lower diastolic numbers. A person should keep these numbers within the normal range to prevent either hypertension or hypotension. We describe the healthy ranges for systolic and diastolic readings below. According to the American Heart Association , a healthy blood pressure range is:.

If a person has the following numbers , they have low blood pressure:. Lower blood pressure is especially common in athletes and young people. A person with elevated blood pressure is not yet hypertensive and can take steps to help prevent progression to hypertension.

These numbers are for adults. However, a person who is experiencing a hypertension crisis due to elevated blood pressure levels may experience the following symptoms:. However, there are also many steps a person can take to prevent high blood pressure.