Low blood pressure, also known as hypotension, is usually considered a sign of good health and low risk for cardiovascular disease. However, there are times when persistently low blood pressure or a sudden drop can be a sign of an underlying health issue that needs medical attention. Knowing when low blood pressure becomes a problem can help ensure timely intervention and proper care.

Blood pressure readings consist of two numbers:

Systolic pressure (the top number) indicates the pressure in your arteries when your heart pumps blood. Diastolic pressure (the bottom number) reflects the pressure in your arteries while your heart is resting between beats.

The normal reading is usually 120/80 mmHg or less. Hypotension is clinically defined as having blood pressure readings less than 90/60 mmHg. In some patients, low blood pressure will have no adverse health consequences and therefore does not need to be treated. In extreme cases, however, it can limit the flow of oxygen and nutrients to vital organs, resulting in potentially life-threatening complications, such as shock.

Causes of Low Blood Pressure

Hypotension can result from many factors. Some of the factors that cause hypotension are as follows:

• Insufficient fluid intake or excessive fluid loss can lead to decreased blood volume and hence hypotension.
• An injury or internal bleeding may result in hypotension. This happens because blood pressure becomes significantly reduced.
• Some hormonal changes along with the increased blood requirement during pregnancy also causes hypotension.
• Issues like heart failure or arrhythmias can impair blood circulation and result in low blood pressure.
• Certain drugs, including diuretics, antidepressants, and blood-pressure-lowering medications, can induce hypotension.

Symptoms of Hypotension

While low blood pressure may not always cause symptoms, it can sometimes be associated with:

- Dizziness or fainting

- Fatigue and weakness

- Blurred vision

- Nausea

- Confusion or difficulty concentrating

- Shallow breathing

- Palpitations

If the person experiences these symptoms, with the recorded blood pressure reading, the medical services have to be consulted.

Types of Low Blood Pressure

1. Orthostatic Hypotension: This is a kind of hypotension that appears as a result of decreased blood pressure when a person is standing up from lying down or sitting position and primarily affects elderly people.

2. Postprandial Hypotension: This is a drop in blood pressure after eating, more common in older people.

3. Neurally Mediated Hypotension: It is triggered by standing for long periods. This type can affect younger people and is associated with miscommunication between the brain and heart.

When Is Low Blood Pressure Dangerous?

There is no such thing as a universal threshold for very low blood pressure, but a blood pressure reading below 90/60 mmHg can be dangerous and require prompt medical assessment if accompanied by symptoms of fainting, confusion, or shortness of breath. Sudden falls in blood pressure may point to potentially serious underlying causes, which can include:

• Internal bleeding
• Sepsis (severe infection)
• Allergic reactions

Management and Treatment

Treatment of hypotension depends on its cause:

• Hydration Drinking more water can help against dehydration-related hypotension.
• Compression Stockings: These can improve circulation and reduce blood pooling in the lower limbs.
• Dietary Changes: Increasing salt intake under supervision can help increase blood pressure
• Medication Changes: The physician may need to reduce dosages of some medications or replace prescriptions.

For more severe cases, physicians might also administer fludrocortisone or midodrine to increase blood pressure. Shock from hypotension should be treated promptly to ensure proper function of organs.

Can Hypotension Cause Fatigue?

Chronic fatigue syndrome has also been associated with low blood pressure. Prolonged tiredness, despite adequate rest, may require reassessment of blood pressure levels. Fatigue secondary to hypotension will impact functionality and thus requires assessment and treatment of the cause.

When to Seek Medical Care

If your blood pressure readings are low consistently and without symptoms, you probably have nothing to worry about. If you do have symptoms like dizziness, fainting, or confusion, you need to go to the doctor. Blood pressure checks are usually conducted regularly. Once you are aware of your own normal baseline, you will know right away when there is something wrong.

Lifestyle Tips That Support Normal Blood Pressure

1. Other than directly treating hypotension, a healthy lifestyle overall would promote balanced blood pressure levels.
2. Exercise regularly; it promotes cardiovascular health and can help regulate blood pressure.
3. Focus on nutrient-dense foods rich in iron, B vitamins, and electrolytes to support circulatory health.
4. Excessive alcohol consumption dehydrates the body and lowers blood pressure.
5. Practices like yoga and meditation can help maintain a healthy blood pressure range.

When Robert F Kennedy Jr took charge of America's health as the Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2025, the promise was sweeping. It included: restoring trust, clean up the food supply, rethink vaccine, though he clearly did state during debates that he is not against it, and reshape a system he said had failed many families for decades.

On February 13, 2025, the day he was sworn in, the US President Trump said, "Our public health system has squandered the trust of our citizens. They don’t trust us. They don’t trust anybody, frankly. They’ve gone through hell.” Trump promised that Kennedy would "lead out campaign of historic reforms and restore faith in American health care". A year from now, Health and Me analyzes those MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) promises.

he Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement produced policy changes, lawsuits, agency upheavals and intense public debate, but also falling trust in public health agencies and uncertain long-term impact.

Read: I'm Not Afraid Of Germs, I Snorted Cocaine Off Toilet Seats, Says US Secretary of Health, RFK Jr

The Fight Against Ultra Processed Foods

Kennedy’s campaign had centered on a simple message: American children are sicker because their food is broken. As health secretary, he created a MAHA Commission to investigate children’s health.

Its first report blamed rising chronic illness partly on diet and raised alarms about herbicides like glyphosate and atrazine being found in children and pregnant women. Farmers and food companies revolted, lobbying lawmakers in agricultural states.

The backlash worked. By the commission’s follow-up report in September, pesticide references had vanished entirely, a clear sign of political limits.

Read: Under RFK Jr's MAHA, More Food Dyes Are Getting Banned In US

Still, Kennedy pushed nutrition policy aggressively. New dietary guidelines promoted whole milk, red meat and less ultraprocessed food. Supporters applauded a focus on real food, and food companies even pledged to remove artificial dyes by 2027.

But critics said the results were partial at best. Nutrition expert Dr. Marion Nestle told CNN that despite momentum, progress stalled: “One big disappointment is the lack of progress on removing industrial and agricultural chemicals from the food supply.”

An Anti-vaxxer's Vaccine Policy

No area defined Kennedy’s first year more than vaccines.

He fired members of a CDC advisory panel, replaced them, sometimes with skeptics, and cut the list of routinely recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, aligning the U.S. closer to Denmark’s schedule. Several vaccines, including flu and hepatitis A, were removed from routine recommendations.

Supporters framed it as restoring parental choice. Critics called it dangerous.

Read: RFK Jr. Removes Entire CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee

Yale public health expert Dr. Jason Schwartz told CNN the consequences could be severe: “Today, the federal government’s public health agencies and leaders represent the greatest threat to efforts to prevent measles… a scenario that would have been inconceivable a few years ago.”

Outbreaks soon followed, measles deaths returned after a decade without them. And polling showed trust in the CDC falling from 59% to 47%.

Kennedy argued declining trust started before him and that transparency would fix it. But many scientists disagreed. Infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Osterholm told CNN the new approach replaced evidence with politics: “Decisions are being made based on ideology.”

Health Agencies Saw A Lot Of Hirings, Firings, And Restructuring

Within days of Kennedy’s swearing-in, thousands of employees across CDC, FDA and NIH were fired in a sweeping reorganization aimed at shrinking the department by about 20,000 workers.

Leadership churn followed. A CDC director was ousted, nominees withdrawn, senior officials resigned, and a major shooting at CDC headquarters, carried out by a man angry about vaccines, intensified tensions. Hundreds of staff later urged Kennedy to stop spreading misinformation.

Researchers warned expertise was disappearing. Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Rivers told CNN local health departments depend on federal specialists: "A lot of those people aren’t there anymore.”

Read: How Susan Monarez's Appoint As CDC Director Can Change US Health Sector?

Meanwhile, Kennedy struggled with forces outside his control. According to Politico reporting, his attempts to regulate agricultural chemicals faltered because authority belonged to the Environmental Protection Agency and Republican lawmakers pushed back heavily.

At the Food and Drug Administration, Kennedy’s agenda pulled in two directions.

On one hand, the administration sought cheaper drugs and faster access. On the other, it raised evidence standards and blocked or slowed approvals, including scrutiny of a muscular dystrophy therapy after patient deaths.

Also Read: Top U.S. Medical Associations Ousted from CDC Vaccine Workgroups in Sudden Shake-Up

Even allies noticed contradictions. The agency alternated between right-to-try deregulation and skepticism toward pharmaceutical safety. The result: uncertainty for both industry and patients.

Restoring Faith In Public Health

Trump promised Kennedy would restore faith in public health. Instead, surveys show trust in both health agencies and Kennedy himself fell.

Read: What Is 'Make America Healthy Again' All About?

Nutrition reforms gained modest support. Drug price messaging resonated politically. But experts repeatedly emphasized the same conclusion: vaccine policy overshadowed everything else.

Nutrition policy expert Dr. Jerold Mande told CNN messaging that authorities had lied for decades may have backfired:

“Most people will take from that: we shouldn’t trust anybody."

The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging countries to accelerate efforts to provide proper eye care, as a new Lancet Global Health study shows that nearly half of all people across the world facing cataract‑related blindness still need access to surgery.

As of now, statistical models predict that the global coverage of cataract surgery is set to increase by about 8.4 percent this decade. However, progress needs to accelerate sharply to meet the World Health Assembly target of a 30 percent increase by 2030.

Devora Kestel, Director, WHO Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health: "Cataract surgery is one of the most powerful tools we have to restore vision and transform lives. When people regain their sight, they regain independence, dignity, and opportunity."

The literature review, which analyzed reports from 68 country estimates for 2023 and 2024 shows that the African Region faces the greatest gap, with three in four people who need cataract surgery remaining untreated.

Additionally, women are disproportionately affected across all regions, consistently experiencing lower access to care than men.

Researchers noted that the gap in access to surgery was mostly due to long-standing structural barriers, including shortages and unequal distribution of trained eye-care professionals, high out-of-pocket costs, long waiting times and limited awareness or demand for surgery, even where services exist.

In addition, while age is the primary risk factor for cataract, other contributors such as prolonged UV-B exposure, tobacco use, corticosteroid use and diabetes can accelerate its development.

What Is A Cataract?

Most cataracts develop slowly and don't disturb eyesight early on. But with time, cataracts will eventually affect vision. Symptoms of cataracts include:

• Clouded, blurred or dim vision.
• Trouble seeing at night.
• Sensitivity to light and glare.
• Need for brighter light for reading and other activities.
• Seeing "halos" around lights.
• Frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescription.
• Fading or yellowing of colors.
• Double vision in one eye.

At first, stronger lighting and eyeglasses can help deal with cataracts. But if impaired vision affects usual activities, cataract surgery might be needed. Surgery is generally a safe, effective procedure.

Can Rising Pollution Levels In India Worsen Eye Health?

The doctors confirmed that most cases now appear with patients who have allergies, dryness, burning sensations and excessive watering in the eyes. The pollution is not only affecting children, but adults are also equally impacted.

Dr Ikeda Lal, Senior Cornea, Cataract and Refractive Surgery Specialist at Delhi Eye Centre and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital told PTI: "Every year after Diwali, we brace for a rise in eye complaints. The number of patients complaining of itching, redness, and irritation has gone up by almost 50-60 per cent."

A study from 2022 published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health notes the adverse effects of air pollution on the eyes. Air pollution is a mix of complex gas-phase pollutants and particles that are disbursed into the atmosphere and are harmful.

It comprises:

• Sulfur dioxide
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Carbon dioxide
• Nitrogen monoxide
• Carbon monoxide
• Nitrogen oxides
• Particulate matter 2.5 or PM2.5
• Particulate matter 10 or PM10

Air pollution is known to cause cardiovascular disorders, respiratory tract problems, ocular disease, neurologic disease, cancer, and even death, notes the study.

In terms of its impact on the eyes, the pollutants usually work as irritants, which can cause inflammation and irritation in the eyes.

The cornea is the most sensitive structure in the human body due to its innervation in the ocular surface, which makes it extremely sensitive to environmental agents. The pollutants could thus cause conjunctivitis, which could become a frequent problem.

In addition to that, household pollution could also produce volatile organic compounds; for instance, formaldehyde could cause DNA damage in animal cells, and its carcinogenicity has been assessed by many studies too.

People around the world frequently worry about aging, worrying about physical decline, illness, and a loss of independence s they grow older.

However, researchers at the NYU School of Global Public Health have found that women who worry over their declining health may actually speed up the aging process due to the related-psychological stress.

Mariana Rodrigues, a PhD student at NYU School of Global Public Health and the first author of the study, said: "Our research suggests that subjective experiences may be driving objective measures of aging. Aging-related anxiety is not merely a psychological concern, but may leave a mark on the body with real health consequences."

"We know from previous research that anxiety, depression, and mental health in general are associated with a number of physical health outcomes, but until now researchers haven’t focused on whether there is a correlation between worrying about aging and the process of aging itself.

“Women in midlife may also be multiple in roles, including caring for their aging parents. As they see older family members grow older and become sick, they may worry about whether the same thing will happen to them".

After analyzing data from 726 women, the researchers while worrying about declining health, had the strongest associations with biological aging, anxiety about declining attractiveness and fertility were not significantly associated with it.

They theorized that this may be because research shows that health-related concerns are more common and persist over time, while worries about beauty and reproductive health may fade with age.

“Aging is a universal experience,” said Rodrigues. “We need to start a discourse about how we as a society—through our norms, structural factors, and interpersonal relationships—address the challenges of aging.”

Warning Signs You May Be Aging Faster

• Constant fatigue and loss of energy: Everyday tasks feel harder, and the body tires more quickly than before.
• Skin and hair changes: Reduced collagen and keratin production leads to sagging, wrinkles, and thinning or loss of hair.
• Cognitive decline: Memory lapses, difficulty in planning, and problems with calculations may point to aging-related changes in the brain as grey matter begins to shrink.
• Chronic conditions: Lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension are often tied to aging, linked to reduced insulin production and thicker, slower blood flow.

Can Premature Aging Be Prevented?

Excessive exposure to the sun speeds up skin aging, a process known as photoaging. This alone causes about 90% of the visible changes we see in skin, such as wrinkles, age spots, and rough texture. UV rays also damage cells, which raises the risk of skin cancer.

Blue light and infrared light: The remaining 10% of skin damage comes from high-energy visible (blue) light and infrared light. Blue light comes from the sun and also from screens, while infrared is the heat we feel. These don’t raise cancer risk but they do weaken collagen and elasticity, making skin sag sooner.

Other lifestyle factors that speed up aging include:

• Smoking: Nicotine toxins break down collagen and elastin, causing sagging skin, wrinkles, and a hollow look.
• Poor diet: Diets high in sugar and refined carbs may speed up aging, while diets rich in fruits and vegetables help protect the skin.
• Alcohol: Heavy drinking dehydrates and damages skin over time.
• Lack of sleep: Poor or insufficient sleep has been linked to faster cellular aging.
• Chronic stress: High cortisol levels from stress reduce substances like collagen and hyaluronic acid that keep skin smooth and firm.