Father and Sons

It’s so silly of me not to notice that my wife’s blood pressure from our last OB check up was 90/60. Honestly, I myself didn’t know what those numbers means. My wife didn’t even tell me that she has hypotension. Probably because they OB didn’t gave much concern in it and that it is something normal specially for the pregnant.

I found myself a little curious about the subject and did a little reading and some research about it.

What Is Low Blood Pressure?

Hypotension is the medical term for low blood pressure. You have hypotension if you have a blood pressure of less than 90/60

What Do Those Numbers Mean?

A blood pressure reading appears as two numbers. On my wife’s case, it’s 90/60.

The first one and higher of the two is a measure of pressure from the arteries when the heart beats and fills them with blood. This pressure is called systolic pressure.

The second number is called diastolic pressure, or it measures diastolic pressure. This is the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats.

In general, low blood is a sign of good cardiovascular health specially for athletes but could also be a sign of problem for the elderly.
Dizziness or being lightheaded can be caused by a sudden drop of blood pressure where the brain did received enough supply of blood.

Dizziness and Lightheaded During Pregnancy

Most of the times this is normal. I did a little research and found out that these happened occasionally on pregnant women.

When you’re pregnant, your cardiovascular system undergoes dramatic changes. Your heart rate goes up, your heart pumps more blood per minute, and the amount of blood in your body expands by 40 to 45 percent.

Here what Baby Center has to say:

During a normal pregnancy, your blood pressure gradually decreases in the beginning, reaching its lowest point in the middle of your pregnancy. It then begins to rise, returning to its regular level by the end of pregnancy.

What should be done about it?

Lie down as soon as you feel lightheaded or dizzy, so you won’t fall and hurt yourself if you do faint.

Doctors also advised to lie down on your left side will maximize the blood flow to your heart — and thus to your brain. It will supposedly keep you from actually fainting and eventually may relieve the sensation of lightheadedness altogether.

Causes of Lightheadedness During Pregnancy

• Standing up too fast – I’m sure that this also happens even if you’re not pregnant. When you’re sitting down, blood pools in your feet and lower legs. To prevent lightheadedness, avoid getting up too fast.. Slowly rise from lying to sitting or from sitting to standing.

• Lying on your back – Not sure about this, but my wife complains that when she’s lying on her back, she feels uncomfortable and dizzy. According to studies, about 8 percent of pregnant women develop a condition called supine hypotensive syndrome – usually in their second and third trimesters. When they lie on their back, their heart rate increases, their blood pressure drops, and they feel anxious, lightheaded, and nauseated until they shift their position. To avoid this problem, lie on your side instead of flat on your back. Either side is better than your back, although the left side is best

• Not enough food and drink – When you don’t eat enough, you can end up with low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), which can make you feel dizzy or faint. This can happen much more easily when you’re pregnant.

• Anemia – Being anemic can surely case someone to feel lightheaded and dizzy. If you’re anemic, you have fewer red blood cells to carry oxygen to your brain and other organs. This is probably the reason why my wife was prescribed to take Iron supplement. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia. She’s also taking prenatal vitamin with iron now that she’s in her second trimester.

So, after doing this googling and little reading, I told my wife all about it and she’s a relieved with the information. She said “so that’s why I have lots of Iron to take… ”

Hope this also helps some confused and first time fathers out there!