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Blood pressure is a measurement of the pressure in your arteries during the active and resting phases of each heartbeat. Here’s what the numbers mean:

Diastolic Pressure. The second (bottom) number in a blood pressure reading, this refers to the amount of pressure in your arteries when your heart is at rest between beats.

Systolic Pressure:The first (top) number in a blood pressure reading, this is the amount of pressure your heart generates when pumping blood through your arteries to the rest of your body.

Current guidelines identify normal blood pressure as equal to or lower than 120/80 many experts think 115/75 is optimal.

Although you can get an accurate blood pressure reading at any given time, blood pressure isn’t always the same. It can vary considerably in a short amount of time sometimes from one heartbeat to the next, depending on body position, breathing rhythm, stress level, physical condition, medications you take, what you eat and drink, and even time of day. Blood pressure is usually lowest at night and rises sharply on waking.

If low blood pressure causes clinical symptoms, the cause will be in one of three general categories. Either the heart is not pumping with enough pressure, the artery walls are too dilated, or there is not enough intravascular fluid (intra=within + vascular= blood vessels) within the system.

The cause of low blood pressure isn’t always clear. It may be associated with the following:

1.Liver disease
2.Heat exhaustion or heat stroke
3.Widening, or dilation, of the blood vessels
4.Heart arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms)
5.Heart failure
6.Overdose of high blood pressure drugs
7.Over the counter medications
8.Hormonal problems such as an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), diabetes, or low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
9.Pregnancy

Throughout the day, your blood pressure can vary by between 30-40 mmHg (both systolic and diastolic) depending on what you are doing. Having a stressful week at work, the temperature outside, and even what you had for lunch could affect your blood pressure reading.

Each time that you have your blood pressure measured, it is important that the test is carried out under similar conditions to ensure that the results are consistent. If you have a low blood pressure reading, your GP will first consider the everyday causes that might have affected it, before considering the possible underlying causes.
Everyday causes

Many factors have a daily, or sometimes even hourly, effect on your heart and circulation. Below are things that could affect your blood pressure and, in some cases, may cause low blood pressure.

1.If You Have Recently Eaten:Blood will be used for digesting food in your stomach, so the blood pressure elsewhere in your body will fall.
2.Your Temperature:If you are cold, your heart beat will slow down and your blood pressure will fall.
3.How Much Exercise You Do:Initially, exercise will raise your blood pressure, but if you are healthy and exercise regularly, your blood pressure will be low when you are resting.
4.How Stressed or Relaxed You Are:If you are stressed, your heart will beat faster and your blood pressure will increase, and the opposite if you are relaxed.
5.Your Age:Typically, blood pressure rises as you get older, although postural, or orthostatic, and postprandial hypotension are also more likely in the elderly.
6.The Time of Day:Your blood pressure falls overnight so it will be low in the morning.

One especially important cause of low blood pressure is orthostatic hypotension, which is sometimes referred to as postural hypotension. This happens when blood pressure drops rapidly during changes to body position usually when changing from sitting to standing inducing classic signs that the blood pressure is too low, like dizziness, blurry vision, and fainting.