Yes, information collected from healthcare practitioners and medical journals suggests that dehydration can cause high blood pressure.
One suffers from dehydration when his/her body lacks the fluid required to perform daily functions. It may happen when you don’t drink enough water/fluid or when your body loses fluid faster than it can replenish.
If dehydration becomes a regular issue and you leave the problem untreated, you may develop more serious health complications. They may be as severe as life-threatening kidney issues and cardiac disorders. Dehydration-induced changes in blood pressure are also common. The section below will help you learn more about the impact of dehydration on your blood pressure.
Dehydration and Low Blood Pressure
Almost 60% of the human body is constituted of water. Your bones, muscles, brain, and organs, everything, contain some quantity of water. So, it’s obvious that blood, which is a liquid connective tissue, is mostly formed of water.
When your body gets dehydrated, the amount of water in all your organs and tissues drops. A drop in the amount of water in your blood reduces the volume of blood (a healthy individual has around 1.25 gallons of blood in his/her system), which results in low blood pressure. This, in turn, prevents the sufficient supply of nutrients and oxygen to your organs. If not addressed at the right time, you may develop brain or heart damage or may even die due to excessively low blood pressure.
The dehydration responsible for your low blood pressure can occur due to several reasons. It may be excessive sweating during the summer months. You may develop it due to certain medications. Or the problem might occur due to your habit of not drinking enough fluid.
Here are a few signs that indicate a drop in blood pressure. You should get yourself checked by a trusted physician if you experience any of them persistently:
- Dizziness
- Passing out
- Blurred vision
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Changes in the way you breathe
- Extreme fatigue
- Confusion
Dehydration and High Blood Pressure
The human body fights back when blood pressure remains lower than normal for a prolonged period. While this mechanism is beneficial, the situation may turn serious if you become a victim of overcorrection. The bad news is that overcorrection is extremely common in people experiencing dehydration-induced low blood pressure.
Dehydration tends to increase the level of sodium in the human body. This change triggers increased production of vasopressin, a hormone that helps the body hold water. However, overproduction of vasopressin can tighten and constrict blood vessels and cause a significant increase in blood pressure. If you already have hypertension, the consequences of the above changes will be worse.
Here are a few signs you must be wary of:
- Chest pain
- Frequent episodes of severe headache
- Vision changes
- Nosebleeds
- Confusion and dizziness
- Breathing difficulty
- Unexplained fatigue
- Heart palpitation
How to Prevent Dehydration-Induced High Blood Pressure?
Following a few rules will ensure that you don’t have high blood pressure due to dehydration. Here are the preventive measures:
- Keep your daily fluid intake adequate. Increase your fluid intake when you participate in physical activities or when the temperature is extremely high.
- The daily fluid requirement varies from one individual to another. Speak to your doctor to learn how much fluid intake is adequate for your activity level, gender, weight, and age.
- Don’t drink water only when you are thirsty. Thirst is an indicator that you are already dehydrated.
How to Manage Dehydration-Induced High Blood Pressure?
If your blood pressure levels have already risen due to dehydration, you must do the following:
- Start drinking water. Don’t drink too much at one go. Your target should be to finish drinking 2.5 to 3 liters of water (or as advised by your doctor) within a day. This will slowly lower the levels of vasopressin in your system and reverse vasoconstriction.
- Consume coconut water or other oral rehydration solutions to normalize the levels of magnesium, potassium, and sodium in your blood. This is more essential for people experiencing dehydration due to an illness or excessive sweating.
- Add food items rich in potassium to your daily diet. Examples include beans, potatoes, etc. Also, consume food items that can help remove excess sodium from your system. Staying away from alcohol and caffeine is also crucial, as these components worsen dehydration.
Final Words
Keep monitoring your hydration and BP while trying the above home remedies. If you still haven’t experienced any significant improvement, seek immediate medical attention. Book an appointment with the Cardiology Department at Magnet Health. The clinic has the best cardiologists in the country, who will not only help you by lowering your blood pressure but will also inform you about ways of avoiding similar issues in the future.