Blood Pressure

Here is a great blood pressure chart:
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/medicine/blood-pressure.htm

Most of the time the idea is to be in the 120/80 to 90/60. A person's 'normal' blood pressure can range between these numbers and each person can be different.

My normal blood pressure used to be 90/60 and I would be fine. However, small changes in my actions, like missing a meal by an hour or two or getting up too quickly, would cause my blood pressure to suddenly drop and I would faint or get dizzy. Sometimes for days.

High blood pressure is dangerous and if a reading is in the 140/90 to 159/99 you are most likely in the Stage 1 Hypertension range.

Stage 2 hypertension range is 160/100 or higher and emergency medical care should be sought for 180/110 or higher.

Symptoms of blood pressure changes may include:
- Fatigue - tiredness, weakness, difficult to do daily activities
- Dizziness or a feeling of fainting when changing positions such as arising from bed, standing or sitting up
- Nauseated
- Perceiving irregular heartbeats
- Experiencing sweatiness
- Experiencing chills
- Breathlessness and chest pain due to the heart not having enough blood to pump throughout the body
- Skin palor (pale)

Factors contributing to hypotension and low blood pressure include:
- Side effects or adverse effect of chemotherapy treatment
- Situations that decrease the amount of blood in the body and therefore decrease the amount of blood the heart can pump
- Certain medications
- Losing fluids from nausea, vomiting and diarrhea which leads to lower than normal amount of blood in your body
- Dehydration may also occur from hot weather, exercising, sweating, or fever

Hypotension is a lower than normal blood pressure reading. Some chemotherapy or biological drugs may cause low blood pressure.