Blood pressure readings use the systolic pressure at the beginning, followed by the diastolic blood pressure - so a low blood pressure would be when the systolic pressure is less than 90 and the diastolic pressure is below 60. A normal and healthy blood pressure reading, according to the American Heart Association, is around the 120/80 mark. You should be aiming for this but obviously not everybody will be bang on this mark.
Experts in this field don't use the one number to define a dangerously low blood pressure, however. Blood pressure readings for different people will mean different things, and what is too low for one person may be sufficient for another -given that everyone's bodies are different. Low blood pressure can be really dangerous, the Mayo Clinic points out. If the blood pressure goes low suddenly and unexpectedly then it will produce noticeable and unpleasant symptoms.
There are three general kinds of low blood pressure that cause noticeable and unpleasant symptoms, and these three can be dangerous. There is the neutrally mediated hypotension, or NMH, which is low blood pressure that drops soon after standing up for a long period of time, or because of extreme emotional distress in a person.
Then there is orthostatic hypotension. This is low blood pressure that can occur in a person when they are rising from a sitting or lying position. Many people experience this if they sit up or stand up too quickly after having been sat down or lay down for a long period of time.
Then there is severe hypotension, which is low blood pressure that can ultimately lead to shock. It is a potentially fatal condition whereby blood pressure is that low that vital organs like the kidneys and the brain do not get enough blood to be able to keep the body running the way that it should do.
Experts in this field don't use the one number to define a dangerously low blood pressure, however. Blood pressure readings for different people will mean different things, and what is too low for one person may be sufficient for another -given that everyone's bodies are different. Low blood pressure can be really dangerous, the Mayo Clinic points out. If the blood pressure goes low suddenly and unexpectedly then it will produce noticeable and unpleasant symptoms.
There are three general kinds of low blood pressure that cause noticeable and unpleasant symptoms, and these three can be dangerous. There is the neutrally mediated hypotension, or NMH, which is low blood pressure that drops soon after standing up for a long period of time, or because of extreme emotional distress in a person.
Then there is orthostatic hypotension. This is low blood pressure that can occur in a person when they are rising from a sitting or lying position. Many people experience this if they sit up or stand up too quickly after having been sat down or lay down for a long period of time.
Then there is severe hypotension, which is low blood pressure that can ultimately lead to shock. It is a potentially fatal condition whereby blood pressure is that low that vital organs like the kidneys and the brain do not get enough blood to be able to keep the body running the way that it should do.
