Low Blood Pressure: How Low Is Too Low?

From Our Mailbag:

"Just read your blog about understanding blood pressure, and I have a question. There seems to be a lot of information out there about people with high blood pressure, but what about too low - how low is too low, and what does it mean? Information about low blood pressure seems to be pretty scarce, and I think it would be a good thing for you to comment on. Mine is usually something around 105/60, but that is
the same as my teenage daughter, so I am hoping it's good. Is this very uncommon?

Stephanie H.
Canada"

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Generally speaking, low blood pressure is only a problem if it causes dizziness or lightheadedness. I sometimes find that healthy people can have blood pressure that is significantly lower than 120/80.

I advise people to carefully monitor blood pressure lower than 90/60 when certain drugs are involved.

Here is a list of drugs that can cause dangerously low blood pressure and warrant careful observation:

• Drugs for high blood pressure, including diuretics
• Drugs for anxiety
• Some drugs for depression
• Narcotic pain killers
• Alcohol
• Certain heart medications

Also, it's important to note that the following conditions can cause problematic low blood pressure:

• Dehydration
• Heart failure
• Irregular heart beat
• Shock (from trauma, infection, stroke, or
  life-threatening allergic reaction)
• Advanced peripheral vascular disease

So long as none of the drugs and conditions listed above apply to you, I wouldn't consider having blood pressure as low as 90/60 to be a problem.