Small Difference Between Upper And Lower Pressure: Reasons, Norm

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Small difference between upper and lower pressure: causes, symptoms, treatment

The content of the article:

How to spot a small gap in pressure
Why pulse pressure can be small
How is too low a pulse pressure manifested?
What to do if your pulse pressure is low
Video

The reasons for the small difference between the upper and lower pressure can be different, but in any case, this condition is not normal and requires at least a medical examination.

Blood pressure (BP) is considered one of the important indicators of the state of the body. Systolic (upper) is the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts, diastolic (lower) is the pressure in the arteries when the heart muscle relaxes. The difference between the high and low pressure values is called the pulse pressure. What should be the pulse pressure? Normally, the gap between systolic and diastolic pressure should be 40 mm Hg. Art. (at an ideal pressure of 120 to 80 mmHg), a deviation of 10 units up or down is also normal. The answer to the question of how much a child's pulse pressure is normal is similar to that of an adult, that is, 30-50 mm Hg. Art.

The difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure is called pulse pressure.

Why is too small a gap between indicators dangerous? Too small a difference between the upper and lower pressure, confirmed by several measurements, indicates the presence of serious diseases and may even pose a threat to the patient's life, as it is a sign of a violation of the functions of the cardiovascular system.

How to spot a small gap in pressure

Low pulse pressure is determined during the measurement of blood pressure by subtracting the value of the lower one from the value of the upper pressure.

The pressure measurement should be carried out after the patient has been at rest for at least 10 minutes. The hand on which the measurement is taken should be approximately level with the heart. The cuff of a mechanical tonometer is put on the shoulder and fixed slightly obliquely, since the thickness of the arm in this place is not the same. After that, the cuff is inflated with air approximately 20 mm Hg. Art. more than the level at which the pulse ceases to be audible. Then the air is smoothly released from the cuff, fixing the first and last blow. The former indicates that the pressure in the cuff is equal to the systolic pressure, the latter corresponds to the diastolic pressure. To measure blood pressure with an automatic tonometer, you do not need to manually inject air into the cuff, just fix it on the wrist and turn on the device. The measurement results will be displayed.

In order to determine the cause of the pathologically low pulse pressure, the patient may be assigned an additional examination: electrocardiography, echocardiography, ultrasound examination of the kidneys, magnetic resonance angiography of the aorta and / or blood vessels of the kidneys, general and biochemical blood tests, etc.

Why pulse pressure can be small

A small difference between the upper and lower pressure in the case when the upper one is normal, most often indicates the development of arterial hypotension. This condition is characteristic of females under 35 years of age. Other causes include diseases of the urinary system, passive lifestyle, heart disease, somatoform autonomic dysfunction of the nervous system, spasms of blood vessels. A small difference between systolic and diastolic pressure in a patient against a background of trauma may indicate internal bleeding.

Pulse pressure can also decrease with increasing lower or decreasing upper reading. Such conditions are observed in chronic kidney disease, atherosclerotic lesions of the blood vessels of the kidneys, coronary vessels and / or aorta, stenosis of the aortic valve, aortic aneurysm, neoplasms of the kidneys or adrenal glands, constrictive pericarditis, high heart rate, ventricular arrhythmias, left ventricular shock concentration, low cardiac shock, iron in the blood, dehydration of the body.

A small gap between the upper and lower pressure with an increased upper pressure is observed with arterial hypertension.

Transient, i.e. transient, decrease in pulse pressure occurs with a lack of nutrition, increased physical and / or mental stress, lack of sleep (overwork), hypothermia. In this case, elimination of the cause, i.e. eating, rest, warming leads to the normalization of blood pressure.

How is too low a pulse pressure manifested?

With an excessively small interval between the upper and lower pressures, the patient experiences dizziness, headache, muscle weakness, pallor of the skin, decreased concentration, impaired short-term memory, drowsiness, apathy, irritability, increased sensitivity to sounds, photophobia, and sometimes light-headedness … A person does not feel rested even after a long sleep.

Low pulse pressure due to cardiogenic or other shock conditions is manifested by pallor and / or cyanosis of the skin, cold sweats, shortness of breath, confusion, or fainting.

The difference between the upper and lower pressure of less than 20 units is critical, that is, it means that the patient needs urgent medical attention.

What to do if your pulse pressure is low

First of all, you should not self-medicate. The pathology is serious enough to seek medical help as soon as possible in order to find out the cause.

If, according to the results of the examination, any serious diseases that could cause low pulse pressure are not identified, the condition is corrected by changing the lifestyle in a healthy direction. Such patients are advised to eat a balanced diet, give up bad habits, spend more time in the fresh air, get rid of physical inactivity, take a short break every hour of work, monitor the condition of the cervical spine, and be sure to get enough sleep. The minimum sleep duration should be 8 hours.

In the event that the cause of the small difference between systolic and diastolic pressure is determined, treatment is to eliminate the causative factor.

So, in case of atherosclerotic lesions of the blood vessels, the patient needs to take drugs that lower the level of cholesterol in the blood, vitamin therapy, and the intake of unsaturated fatty acids can be prescribed.

Low pulse pressure is manifested by a deterioration in well-being

In the case of chronic inflammatory diseases of the urinary system, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial drugs, physiotherapy procedures are prescribed.

In chronic left ventricular failure, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, diuretics, cardiac glycosides are indicated. In some cases, surgery is required. In the acute form of the disease, diuretics, glycosides, ganglion blockers are used.

With ischemic heart disease, surgical treatment may be required - bypass grafting, stenting, laser angioplasty, etc.

With aneurysms, surgical intervention is necessary.

With constrictive pericarditis, pericardiectomy is performed.

If the pathology is caused by stenosis of the aortic valve, it is replaced with an artificial one.

In case of severe cardiac arrhythmias, antiarrhythmic drugs are prescribed, and if they are ineffective, implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator is indicated.

If the patient has neoplasms, both conservative and surgical treatment can be carried out.