Low Blood Pressure or Hypotension in Women

If your feet and hands go numb after prolonged sitting or lying down or if your vision go blur when transferring from sit-to-stand or from lying down to sitting, this can be an indication for you to see a heart specialist. You might be dealing with low blood pressure or postural hypotension.

Your body needs to put the best effort against gravity to pump up the necessary blood that is required for you to stand. This causes a decline in your blood pressure. The sudden drop in blood pressure can cause dizziness, blurred vision, and uncomfortable feeling all over your body. You must seek immediate medical attention if you have a fainting spell upon rising.

What Low Blood pressure?

• Pregnancy - Right from the moment your urine pregnancy test turns positive, you will witness hypotension as your blood vessels start to dilate.
• Dehydration - Any spike in temperature, exhaustion due to heat, or chronic diarrhea and vomiting can lead to dehydration thereby lowering your blood pressure.
• Heart conditions - Continuous low blood pressure can be a result of heart condition. Unusually slow heart rate is a common cause of hypotension.  
• Severe blood loss - Any severe blood loss, whether menstrual loss or accidental injury, can lower your blood pressure, and you can end up having a life-threatening shock.  
• Medication-induced - Certain antihypertensive and antidepressants are known to cause hypotension.

 Preventing Hypotension 

• Engaging in cardio exercises such as brisk-walking, swimming, jogging, or bicycling or doing aerobic exercises can help improve your blood circulation and lower the chances of hypotension.
• Try to stay away from heat exhaustion when outdoors as extreme temperatures are known to cause dehydration and lowering of blood pressure.
• Replenish yourself with lots of liquids to stay protected from adverse effects of dehydration and hypotension. Add a little salt for increased water retention in your body.
• A 3-step-approach for any postural changes will be your best bet to prevent hypotension episodes. Or you can slow down your movements to prevent dizziness and fainting spells. 

“When did you last check your BP?”

Why Women Require Flexible Work Arrangements?

Aching of the back-bone of the ‘back-bone of society’, the women, is a common phenomenon. But the worst hit arena is that of the working women. Imagining a daily schedule of a work-to-home mum explains how hard it is for a lady to cope with her responsibilities. Switching roles from being a mother taking care of her children, a wife looking after her spouse, a daughter attending to her parents, and being a professional leaves little time and attention for her own personal health.

Women know too well about being a bouncy tennis ball being whacked from home to office and vice versa. And it blurs away the personal front out in the ‘no-attention’ cloud, welcoming the mist of ailments into her body, which can turn chronic if remain unattended on a prolonged basis.

Most working women tend to face problems managing their daily schedules. Some common needs of working women start right from pregnancy, which will become even more demanding with the arrival of a child.

Common problems of a working woman:

• Lack of adequate rest & sleep with multiple stressors at office & home.
• Need for multitasking with no me-time.
• No time for breastfeeding.
• Uncertainty of getting maternity leave.
• Culpability of leaving the child alone.

However, all this does not mean that women should completely give up their career after childbirth, but this surely calls for a proper time-management.

Flexible Work Arrangements Can Be Helpful

A good way to help women cater to their needs is to make their work arrangements flexible. A flexibility brought into the working schedules can help them manage, both office and home with efficiency. A discussion with the HR about negotiation in terms of salary for reduced work effort. Is shifting your house to nearby office location possible for you?

Flexible working hours help a woman decide upon her daily priorities and to take time out for herself too. Getting a little time-off for doing yoga and meditation will be immensely helpful in rejuvenating the expected compromised health during pregnancy.

Are you compromising on your own health? Are you feeling stressed out with hectic work schedule? Is your work schedule flexible enough to allow you to breast-feed your newborn?