For some people, low diastolic blood pressure can be as devastating as high blood pressure. Did you know, if blood pressure decreases too much, it can lead to critical issues like shock? For this reason, you should be aware of the symptoms. Many people have asked me, what are the low diastolic pressure symptoms?
The following are the symptoms of low diastolic blood pressure:
- Chest Pain
- Palpitations
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Burred vision
- Falling down
- Fainting
- Rapid breathing
- Lack of concentration
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Dehydration or thirst
- Cold, sweaty skin
Diastolic is the amount of pressure exerted on your blood vessels while the heart is resting between beats. It’s the lower number of your blood pressure reading. A reading of 102/58 means your diastolic blood pressure is 58 mmHg.
Low diastolic blood pressure can occur with a low systolic or with a normal systolic pressure. When diastolic is low but not systolic, it’s called isolated diastolic blood pressure. This can be dangerous for your heart. Unlike the rest of the body, your heart receives blood during diastolic, when it’s not beating. This can lead to symptoms of a weakening heart.
The American Heart Association or the American College of Cardiology hasn’t determined a set number range for low blood pressure. The blood pressure chart doesn’t even mention it. Most experts consider low diastolic pressure under 60 mmHg1.
This blog post will explain each symptom and inform you which ones are related to shock, a life-threatening condition.
Low Diastolic Blood Pressure Symptoms
1. Chest Pain
Chest pain or Angina is the type of pain caused by a reduced blood flow to the heart. When diastolic is low, the heart receives less oxygenated blood2. Depending on the severity, chest pain can be sudden or recur with time.
It’s extremely important to monitor your blood pressure, low or high, at home. Check out the home blood pressure monitor I recommend in my blog post review, Welch Allyn Home 1700 Series Blood Pressure Monitor Review.
2. Palpitations
This is the awareness of your heartbeats. You can feel your heart fluttering, racing, pounding or skipping beats. This typically happens when your heart bets faster and more forceful to make up for the lack of blood2.
3. Dizziness or Lightheadedness
Dizziness can make you feel unbalanced, lightheaded, or the room starts spinning3. These more common symptoms typically occur when you stand up after sitting or laying down for a while.
It mostly happens because your brain doesn’t receive the proper blood supply due to the quick drop in your blood pressure.
Low diastolic symptoms is just one of ten topics discussed in my article, The Low Blood Pressure Range – Everything You Need To Know. Find out the causes, treatments, when it’s an emergency and more.
4. Blurred Vision
Blurred vision is scary when it occurs. It makes me think I’m going to pass out, and that’s never a good thing. It’s even more scarier if you’re driving or alone. I can never imagine being without my site for a period of time.
It’s important to know the blurriness doesn’t have to be in both eyes and it can affect just part of your vision, like peripheral.
5. Falling Down
Falling down is a sudden fall without losing consciousness. It typically happens when walking or standing. This can occur because of the other symptoms mentioned here, like blurred vision, dizziness, dehydration or the next topic which is fainting4.
6. Fainting
It’s a sudden, temporary loss of consciousness. Fainting can occur because the brain lacks a sufficient amount of blood flow. Your pressure can drop so much that the heart is unable to pump enough blood and supply enough oxygen to the brain5.
7. Rapid Breathing
Breathing that is abnormally fast and each breath is shallow. Your breathes per minute increases, typically the average adult breathes between 12 to 20 times a minute. This occurs because your heart begins pumping faster trying to make up for the lack of blood available.
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8. Lack of Concentration
Research has shown low blood pressure lessens your ability to memorize things and attention span. Trying to focus on one particular topic may be difficult. This can occur because important body organs, especially the brain, have a harder time functioning efficiently without enough blood and oxygen6.
9. Fatigue
The feeling of always being tired or not wanting to do anything that requires your body to move. Skipping the gym and avoiding strenuous activity can be a sign of low diastolic blood pressure. Medical researchers have made a possible connection between low blood pressure and chronic fatigue syndrome.
10. Depression
Depression is a serious medical issue that affects how you feel, act and the way you think. It can cause a lack of interest and make you feel sad. Research has shown a connection between low systolic and diastolic blood pressure and depression, especially in older people7.
11. Nausea
An uneasy feeling in your stomach that makes your feel like you may vomit. It often leads to vomiting but doesn’t have to.
12. Vomiting
Another phrase would be throwing up. Typically it’s a one-time event and caused by something that upset the stomach which results in a forceful discharge of whatever is in the stomach.
13. Dehydration Or Thirst
Dehydration occurs when your body loses more fluid than it takes in. When your body is low on fluid, the blood volume also decreases. Low blood volume can cause your diastolic pressure to decrease8.
14. Cold and Sweaty Skin
When your body reacts to extremely low blood pressure, it can go into shock. Clammy skin is a possible sign of that happening. In addition, the increased heart rate mentioned earlier to make up for the lack of blood, can cause sweaty skin.
Shock and Low Diastolic Blood Pressure Symptoms
In rare cases, low diastolic blood pressure can lead to shock. Shock is extremely dangerous and be caused by reduced blood flow throughout the body. Because of this the following low blood pressure and shock symptoms are important to be aware of9:
- Cold, clammy skin
- Rapid breathing
- Confusion
- Rapid heartbeat
- Weak pulse
- Extreme weakness
Low diastolic blood pressure is often caused by another medical condition. Physicians will often treat low blood pressure by addressing the underlying cause.
When Symptoms of Low Diastolic Blood Pressure is an Emergency
All the above symptoms of low diastolic blood pressure become an emergency when they’re combined with blood pressure too low. How low is too low? There’s no set number but it’s typically under 60 mmHg and can vary from one individual to the next. Low blood pressure alone is not an emergency, but if you’re having symptoms, you should seek immediate medical attention.
Read Next – More Low Blood Pressure Related Articles!
Causes Of Low Diastolic Blood Pressure
Low Diastolic Blood Pressure Treatment
When Low Blood Pressure Is An Emergency – Call 911
Causes Of Low Diastolic Blood Pressure In The Elderly
- Michigan Medicine: Low Blood Pressure (Hypotension) [↩]
- Mark Manual: Low Blood Pressure [↩] [↩]
- National Institutes of Health: Low Blood Pressure [↩]
- University of Iowa: Low blood pressure and the risk of falling [↩]
- American Heart Association: Syncope (Fainting) [↩]
- National Center for Biotechnology Information: Reduced brain perfusion and cognitive performance due to constitutional hypotension [↩]
- National Center for Biotechnology Information: Association of low blood pressure with anxiety and depression [↩]
- American Heart Association: Low Blood Pressure – When Blood Pressure Is Too Low [↩]
- National Institutes of Health: Cardiogenic Shock [↩]