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Discussion

Low BP

How low can someone's BP be until you need to be concerned? I understand that some patients can have systolic BP's in the 90's or even 80's which may be normal for them, but can a patient run a systolic BP in the 70's? (I'm talking about for an adult). I was told by a Dr that it's OK as long as they are up and walking around. I had a patient this evening who came into our clinic. I remember the last time she was in, she told me that her BP runs low. During her last visit a while back, her systolic BP was in the 80's and her diastolic was in the 50's. Tonight when I went to take her BP, I could not hear her systolic BP above 80! Her diastolic was around 44. She otherwise appeared to be in no distress but possibly "high on something" per another nurse's observations. I retook her BP with our automatic cuff and got 85/54. I figured either she DOES run low, or her BP was just difficult to hear. Thank You for any input on this.

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I am a dialysis nurse. A lot of dialysis pts run BPs that are chronically high or low. I've seen some otherwise fairly healthy adult pts in their 20s and 30s run systolics as low as the high 60s and be walking around fine. This really alarmed me at first, but after I got to know the pts and saw that they were like that all the time, and in no distress, I got over it.

Still, I do moniter them pretty closely.

While it is unusual, it is possible. My bp tends to run on the low side and I have had readings similar to what you stated in your post - and I know this is not the norm, tho.

SJ

My BP is always very low....even when I was pregnant it was very low. Everytime I have it checked I get the same questions..are you light headed? Are you tired? Are you dizzy? Nope, it is just me :)

I would think that a BP that would achieve a proper CPP would be considered acceptable even if the systolic is in the low 80's. If the patient was symptomatic then interventions would be needed.

Perhaps whatever she was high on made her BP low.

MDs often don't intervene in asymptomatic hypotension.

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