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Does Over Weight Cause Low Blood Pressure Levels?
my sister just checked her bp and it was 98/62 left arm pulse 105 and 86/61 right arm pulse 99. She was feeling dizzy and drained of energy. Is this a cause of worry. She has been diagnosed with hbp and takes medication for this. She lives a sedentary lifestyle and is over weight. I am concerned because this came upon her without warning.
Mon, 31 Jan 2022
Hi,
Being overweight should NOT cause any drop in your blood pressure but as you suspected rather raise the pressure. You mentioned that she takes medication for this, and several thoughts come to mind here. If the medication is too strong for here and lowering her blood pressure to much that is a common thing we see. If she is slightly dehydrated (from nausea or diarrhea), this often lowers the blood pressure and if you are taking medication on top of that it will cause an exaggerated effect from the medication.
Lastly to be blunt, a more serious infection can cause this drop, so a urinary tract infection, pneumonia, etc. These are all viable possibilities here and I agree the dizziness and fatigue are almost certainly a result of the drop in the blood pressure. She needs to increase her hydration for the time being and get seen by her physician as soon as possible in this case.
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. David Girardi, Internal Medicine Specialist
Being overweight should NOT cause any drop in your blood pressure but as you suspected rather raise the pressure. You mentioned that she takes medication for this, and several thoughts come to mind here. If the medication is too strong for here and lowering her blood pressure to much that is a common thing we see. If she is slightly dehydrated (from nausea or diarrhea), this often lowers the blood pressure and if you are taking medication on top of that it will cause an exaggerated effect from the medication.
Lastly to be blunt, a more serious infection can cause this drop, so a urinary tract infection, pneumonia, etc. These are all viable possibilities here and I agree the dizziness and fatigue are almost certainly a result of the drop in the blood pressure. She needs to increase her hydration for the time being and get seen by her physician as soon as possible in this case.
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. David Girardi, Internal Medicine Specialist
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