Blood Pressure Fluctuation

Blood pressure fluctuations occur normally. Sometimes, the fluctuation is a symptom of something more occurring in your body and needs immediate attention. Since high blood pressure has few symptoms until it's too late, it's important to check your blood pressure frequently if you have reason to believe that you have a problem.

Types

• Blood pressure readings indicate problems in the system if they're too high or low. Low blood pressure starts at 90 for the top or systolic number and 60 for the bottom or diastolic number and drops from there. At 60/45, you begin to get dizzy and faint. Below 50/35, you go into a coma and finally death is the result. If you have the other extreme of blood pressure, hypertension, you are borderline when it reaches 140/90, show severe signs at 180/ 110 and critical if your blood pressure reaches 210/120.

Identification

• Sometimes people stop at the local pharmacy or grocery, take their blood pressure and are either relieved or worried at the results. Often these machines' calibrations are off and yield an inaccurate reading. The best method of finding blood pressure fluctuations is to have a doctor take your pressure. Even home blood pressure readings might be inaccurate if you aren't versed in taking blood pressure.

Size

• Simple exercise can account for blood pressure changes. As much as 25 to 30 percent differences occur throughout the day. Dehydration, on the other hand, causes the blood pressure to drop. Your blood pressure changes dramatically throughout the day because that's how the body works. All types of things, such as the amount of caffeine coffee you drank or what you had for breakfast, makes a difference.

Warning

• Not all blood pressure swings are harmless. There are conditions that cause some of these swings that need immediate medical attention. For instance, if your blood pressure is normally in average range or below and you have swings, it might be an indication of diseases of the blood vessels, heart, kidneys, hormone imbalance or even certain types of tumors.

Effects

• The biggest factor that causes blood pressure fluctuation is high blood pressure. Hypertension affects the reaction of the blood vessels, especially if it's not well controlled. They tend to tighten quicker with less stimulus necessary than it would normally take. This makes the blood pressure fluctuate dramatically.

Prevention/Solution

• Check that you haven't done something that causes the fluctuations in your blood pressure. Make sure that your readings are correct also. Go to the doctor if you can't find any other reason for the differences. You may have undiagnosed high blood pressure or the other conditions mentioned previously. If there's no way to verify the readings, go to your doctor and request he check it.