Low Diastolic Blood Pressure

We hear a lot about high blood pressure but what is low diastolic blood pressure or lower diastolic blood pressure?

Blood pressure is recorded as systolic over diastolic pressure. The systolic pressure reflects the pressure in your arteries as the heart is squeezing the blood out. The diastolic pressure is a measure of the pressure within the arteries between heartbeats, as the heart is filling with oxygen rich blood returning from the lungs.

The sound of a pumping heart is the repetitive "lub-dub" that reverberates from the closing of the values. Lub as the tricuspid and mitral values snap shut in the contraction or systolic phase, dub as values leading to the pulmonary artery and to the aorta close at the beginning of the filling or diastolic stage.

The task of the right side of the heart is to accept carbon dioxide laden blood returning from its circuit through the body and push it into the lungs, while the left side is to take the refreshed blood from the lungs and pump it to the rest of our bodies. Due to its larger task, the left ventricle has three times as much muscle as the right side of the heart.

Around the mid 1850s, a pair of German researchers made a startlingly discovery that sound was not the only thing coming from the heart. Along with each lub-dub, they discovered the heart releases a jolt of electricity. Within three decades, the electrocardiogram (ECG) was born. This device simply captures the heart's electrical impulse as it is discharged and records the information.

A cardiologist uses the ECG to find out vital information about how your heart is performing. The machine's recordings represent a complete heartbeat cycle. The first blip is the sinoatrial node firing.

The next large peak is the impulse coursing through the left and right ventricles, which corresponds with the ventricular contraction or systolic. Then comes the recovery for recharging the system when the heart's atria refills or the diastolic period.

The walls of the arteries are elastic. They expand and contract in rhythm with the heartbeat. With each beat, the pressure rises to its peak and then falls for a fraction of a second as the heart rests between contractions.

That is the reason for two numbers in a blood pressure reading. The upper figure which normally is 110-140, measures the peak or systolic when the heart contracts. The lower figure that usually is between 60 and 90 is the diastolic pressure when the heart rests. For instance, a normal blood pressure reading for an adult is 140/80; anything over these numbers is considered elevated.

Medications to Generally Avoid for low diastolic blood pressure

Short-acting calcium channel blockers are very effective at reducing blood pressure, in some instances, too effective. They lower blood pressure so quickly that you actually feel faint. The rapid drop in blood pressure can cause an increase in heart rate that puts additional strain on your heart and could even trigger a heart attack. There are better calcium channel blockers that are longer acting and cause a more gradual and long lasting drop in blood pressure.

It is the opinion of many physicians that the lower your blood pressure, the better. Obviously if your blood pressure falls too low, you would faint. Even with a low diastolic blood pressure as low as 90/60, but you can stand without trouble, this is considered healthy and in the long run better for your heart and vessels.

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