My young doctor disagreed with me the other day when I thought that dehydration caused my normally lower BP to rise higher than I am used to seeing. She said, no - just the opposite would occur. Who is right? Everything I've googled leads me to think that I was right. Anyone have some opinion or better yet, some science to back me up? Just wondering.
Anyway, I'm increasing my water intake to see if that helps.
Can dehydration cause higher blood pressure?
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Can dehydration cause higher blood pressure?
“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.” - Samuel Johnson
"When making your choices in life, do not forget to live." - Samuel Johnson
MC/LC dx October 2014
"When making your choices in life, do not forget to live." - Samuel Johnson
MC/LC dx October 2014
I've seen Dr. Briffa write about some of the effects of dehydrations. One of his pieces has this mention.
"A brief guide to hydration"
http://www.drbriffa.com/2013/02/12/a-br ... hydration/
except from his article:
"I read a review paper recently about the assessment of dehydration [1]. The authors conclude that we don’t have very good standardised tests for dehydration, but a reasonable test is to measure heart rate when sitting, and then again immediately on standing. During dehydration the blood volume tends to be lower and blood pressure too.
On standing, there is a tendency for blood to ‘pool’ in the lower body, causing blood pressure to drop further, which may induce a reflex increase in heart rate. If the pulse rate increases by 20 beats per minute or more on standing, this is generally taken as a sign of dehydration. However, as the authors concede, this test is not a particularly reliable way of assessing dehydration, even when blood volume is significantly depleted.
Quite-severe (even life-threatening) dehydration is known to be a potential hazard of certain activities such as mining and endurance exercise, but most of us run a greater risk of milder levels of dehydration on a day-to-day basis. There is surprisingly little good research on the impact of mild levels of dehydration, but my suspicion is that this impairs physical and mental vitality more than we might expect.
Over the years I have spoken to literally hundreds of individuals who say they do not drink much fluid (including water). However, very consistently indeed these individuals report improvements in energy and vitality, just for drinking more water. Now, of course this may just be placebo response. But the consistency of the effect (even in those who are sceptical) tells me there may well be a genuine effect going on here for many...."
"A brief guide to hydration"
http://www.drbriffa.com/2013/02/12/a-br ... hydration/
except from his article:
"I read a review paper recently about the assessment of dehydration [1]. The authors conclude that we don’t have very good standardised tests for dehydration, but a reasonable test is to measure heart rate when sitting, and then again immediately on standing. During dehydration the blood volume tends to be lower and blood pressure too.
On standing, there is a tendency for blood to ‘pool’ in the lower body, causing blood pressure to drop further, which may induce a reflex increase in heart rate. If the pulse rate increases by 20 beats per minute or more on standing, this is generally taken as a sign of dehydration. However, as the authors concede, this test is not a particularly reliable way of assessing dehydration, even when blood volume is significantly depleted.
Quite-severe (even life-threatening) dehydration is known to be a potential hazard of certain activities such as mining and endurance exercise, but most of us run a greater risk of milder levels of dehydration on a day-to-day basis. There is surprisingly little good research on the impact of mild levels of dehydration, but my suspicion is that this impairs physical and mental vitality more than we might expect.
Over the years I have spoken to literally hundreds of individuals who say they do not drink much fluid (including water). However, very consistently indeed these individuals report improvements in energy and vitality, just for drinking more water. Now, of course this may just be placebo response. But the consistency of the effect (even in those who are sceptical) tells me there may well be a genuine effect going on here for many...."
As Blueberry pointed out, your young doctor is quite correct. The water fraction of blood has a significant effect on blood pressure. The greater the volume of water in the blood, the higher the pressure (it has to go somewhere, so it expands the blood vessels, and the pressure rise will depend on the elasticity of your blood vessels), and the lower the volume of water, the lower the pressure.
Low blood pressure is one of the markers of dehydration. So are foot and leg cramps. I have an ileostomy, and so my colon (wherever it might be, these days), cannot recycle water. Whenever my BP is lower than normal, I know that I am dehydrated, and I usually have the foot/leg cramps to confirm it. My BP is virtually always about 15–20 mm Hg lower in the morning, than it is at bedtime, because I can't rehydrate while I am sleeping.
That said, when I had a severe magnesium deficiency, my blood pressure was wild. Sometimes it would be way too low, and sometimes it would be way too high. But I was dehydrated most of the time, because a magnesium deficiency (similar to diabetes) causes the kidneys to waste water. This is because magnesium is an important electrolyte used by the body to regulate heart rate and blood pressure (and body temperature, and probably a few other vital functions), so it greatly magnified the effects.
Tex
Low blood pressure is one of the markers of dehydration. So are foot and leg cramps. I have an ileostomy, and so my colon (wherever it might be, these days), cannot recycle water. Whenever my BP is lower than normal, I know that I am dehydrated, and I usually have the foot/leg cramps to confirm it. My BP is virtually always about 15–20 mm Hg lower in the morning, than it is at bedtime, because I can't rehydrate while I am sleeping.
That said, when I had a severe magnesium deficiency, my blood pressure was wild. Sometimes it would be way too low, and sometimes it would be way too high. But I was dehydrated most of the time, because a magnesium deficiency (similar to diabetes) causes the kidneys to waste water. This is because magnesium is an important electrolyte used by the body to regulate heart rate and blood pressure (and body temperature, and probably a few other vital functions), so it greatly magnified the effects.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thanks for both of your replies. Magnesium supplementation may be what I need, too, as I was very low in Vit D a few months ago. Will try more mag and keep investigating other options. Again, thanks!
“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.” - Samuel Johnson
"When making your choices in life, do not forget to live." - Samuel Johnson
MC/LC dx October 2014
"When making your choices in life, do not forget to live." - Samuel Johnson
MC/LC dx October 2014