Low blood pressure: what to do

A blood-pressure number can vary with posture, time of day, recent activity, illness and the way the cuff was fitted. Symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, weakness or faintness are more useful when considered alongside the reading. Some people feel well with a lower pressure, while a sudden change can signal dehydration, medicine effects or illness.

Measure after resting, with your arm supported, and repeat if the result seems unusual. Record what you felt and what you were doing. This gives a clinician a clearer pattern than one isolated measurement.

Pause activity and use a chair or bed to prevent a fall. Take small sips of fluid if you are alert and have no fluid restriction. Eat your usual meals, avoid overheating, and flex your ankles before standing. Move from lying to sitting, wait, then stand with support. Do not drive while dizzy or alter prescribed medicine without guidance.

Arrange a GP Consultation for repeated symptoms, a new low reading, symptoms after starting treatment, or problems affecting daily life. Bring your monitor if you are unsure whether it is accurate.

Call emergency services for collapse, chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, new confusion, one-sided weakness, a seizure, serious injury or bleeding. Seek urgent advice when dizziness is severe, fainting repeats, you cannot keep fluids down, or you have very cold clammy skin.

Ask whether your medicines or another illness could be responsible, whether posture-related checks are needed, how often to monitor at home, and what action threshold your clinician wants you to use. Mention falls, fainting and all non-prescription products.