# Is low blood pressure a problem? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 5, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-low-blood-pressure-a-problem/263178 "2004-09-05T03:47:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aenea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@aenea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aenea)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-low-blood-pressure-a-problem/263178/1 "2004-09-05T03:47:50Z")
I hear a lot about high blood pressure and you can find lit about it all over the place. When I looked up low blood pressure there was not nearly so much info about it. If you have low blood pressure a lot, or often, or as a state of being, is that a problem? I rarely see a doc anymore but have joked in the past about being one of the walking dead with some of the readings I’ve seen. The doc just looked at me funny though and didn’t say anything. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-low-blood-pressure-a-problem/263178/2 "2004-09-05T04:18:29Z")
Wouldn’t low blood pressure make one prone to lightheadedness? But how low are we talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-low-blood-pressure-a-problem/263178/3 "2004-09-05T04:42:11Z")
As a rule of thumb, low blood pressure is only a problem if one gets woozy, light-headed or otherwise tends towards diminished consciousness when they stand up or exert themselves. If this is not occurring, then the blood pressure is not too low. As a general rule. YMMV. Etc. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![aenea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@aenea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aenea)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-low-blood-pressure-a-problem/263178/4 "2004-09-05T14:03:20Z")
Well sure, that is one reason I ask. I do get light-headed when I stand up to quickly. (yes yes I’m blonde, but that is not the light-headedness I’m referring to) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-low-blood-pressure-a-problem/263178/5 "2004-09-05T14:40:31Z")
Blood pressure is a measure of the flexibility of the blood vessels. When we are young, our vessels are very flexible. They get stiffer as we age. Athletes tend to have low heart rates and blood pressures. The most common cause of lightheadedness in young women is periodic loss of blood. As **Qadgop the Mercotan** said, if one becomes lightheaded when moving from a lying to stting or sitting to standing position, its because the blood pressure drops suddenly for a moment. This is called [Orthostatic Hypotension](http://www.aafp.org/afp/971001ap/engstrm.html) It happens to everyone occasionally, but if it happens consistantly, or frequently, having one’s blood tested for anemia isn’t a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-low-blood-pressure-a-problem/263178/6 "2004-09-05T15:13:25Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > When we are young, our vessels are very flexible. They get stiffer as we age. Is not this effect largely due to sclerotic deposits in the blood vessels, rather than to age itself? ---
**Author:** ![aenea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@aenea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aenea)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-low-blood-pressure-a-problem/263178/7 "2004-09-05T15:14:55Z")
**picunurse** thank you for the reply. I wasn’t actually trying to get a free diagnosis here online (LOL, you guys get hit on all the time, dont’chya) but more trying to get a feel for what low blood pressure is all about. What I read online doesn’t really apply to me, so I wanted to learn more. I’m not all that young, and don’t suffer huge blood loss or anemia, so I’m just poking around reading pages about it and am still curious.