What Affects Diastolic Blood Pressure

Simply put, blood pressure is defined as the pressure exerted by the blood on blood vessels in the body. If you have ever noticed, two readings are recorded when noting the person's blood pressure - systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. The diastolic pressure, i.e. the lower of the two readings recorded, is the pressure that is present in the walls of arteries when the heart is in a relaxed state in between two consecutive contractions. It is said to be as important as the systolic blood pressure reading is.

Factors that Influence Diastolic Blood Pressure

The desired diastolic blood pressure range happens to be 80 mm of Hg, and knowing what factors affect it - i.e. increase or reduce it, can help you ensure that you put in your bit of efforts to be within this range. In a broad sense, the numerous factors affecting the diastolic blood pressure are grouped into two categories - physiologic factors and pathologic factors.

Physiologic Factors
There are certain normal body factors that affect the reading of the diastolic blood pressure. These include, first of all, the posture of a person and the various receptors that are responsible for sensing pressure - which are referred to as baroreceptors. When we suddenly stand up after being in a sitting or lying position for a long time, we tend to feel lightheaded or dizzy. This happens because the diastolic blood pressure does not manage to push back enough blood to the brain in time. Baroreceptors are pressure receptors that are present throughout the body, which send signals to the heart when there is a sudden drop in the blood pressure. When there is a sudden drop, these receptors stimulate the heart and the brain to increase the diastolic blood pressure.

Yet another physiological factor that can come into play is aging. With age, the elasticity of arteries decreases considerably, and that causes the diastolic blood pressure to increase with age. Genetics is also said to play an important role in these readings, although this cannot be said to be a direct and sole major factor as such.

Pathologic Factors
Other than the physiologic factors mentioned above, there also exist a few pathological factors that have the tendency to affect the diastolic blood pressure. Many of these factors are the same as those of high systolic blood pressure. One of the main triggers of diastolic hypertension includes a sedentary lifestyle. Lack of adequate amount of physical and active exercise, often coupled with a bad and unhealthy diet leads to obesity, which is said to be one of the leading causes of many serious diseases and conditions. Often due to obesity and an increase in the amount of cholesterol in the body, there is deposition of plaque in the inner walls of arteries. This not only compromises the elasticity of the arteries, but also leads to narrowing of the lumen of arteries. This leads to lesser space for blood flow, which translates into an increase in the diastolic blood pressure and often, the systolic blood pressure as well.

Another factor that can be said to be one of the causes of high diastolic blood pressure readings is addiction. Bad habits like smoking and drinking are known to adversely affect the functioning of heart. These habits lead to problems in the circulatory system, which invariably affects the functioning of every other system in the body. Even the existence of some underlying disease, like diabetes or kidney problems, can lower the diastolic blood pressure. Hormonal fluctuations in the body and the intake of certain medications can also adversely affect blood pressure.

Malnutrition diseases and deficiency of certain factors in the diet - like inadequate amounts of sodium, can lead to a decrease in the diastolic blood pressure. The same can also be attributed to the lack of vitamins, as well as dehydration. Other factors which lower blood pressure include excessive blood loss, certain blood diseases, blood infection, etc.

Blood pressure can be kept in check by controlling some of these factors by living a healthy lifestyle. High diastolic blood pressure is said to be an indicator of possible heart diseases, so, it is important to ensure that this reading stays within the desired range.