Low blood pressure, generally defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg, doesn’t always need treatment. But when it causes dizziness, fatigue, or fainting, several strategies can bring your numbers up and keep them stable. The approach combines what you eat and drink, how you move, and in some cases, medication.
Increase Your Salt and Fluid Intake
Salt is the single most effective dietary tool for raising blood pressure because sodium pulls water into your bloodstream, increasing blood volume. Most guidelines for people with symptomatic low blood pressure recommend 6 to 10 grams of salt per day, which is roughly two to three times what’s typically recommended for the general population. The European Society of Cardiology puts the target at 10 grams of sodium chloride daily, while other cardiology guidelines suggest a range of 6 to 9 grams.
You can reach this by salting your food more liberally, eating salty snacks like olives or broth, or using salt tablets if your doctor recommends them. This works best when paired with adequate fluids: aim for 2 to 3 liters of water per day. Drinking a large glass of water (about 500 mL) before standing up or before a situation where you tend to feel lightheaded can provide a quick boost. Water alone temporarily raises blood pressure in many people within minutes of drinking it.
Adjust How and What You Eat
Blood pressure naturally dips after meals as your body redirects blood flow to digestion. This post-meal drop hits some people hard enough to cause dizziness or near-fainting, especially older adults. Two changes help: eat smaller meals more frequently (six smaller meals instead of three large ones) and keep those meals low in carbohydrates. Large, carb-heavy meals cause the steepest drops. Pairing your meal with water and sitting for 15 to 20 minutes afterward also reduces the effect.
Check for Nutritional Deficiencies
Low blood pressure sometimes traces back to anemia, particularly the kind caused by too little vitamin B12 or folate. Without enough of these nutrients, your body produces red blood cells that are oversized and inefficient at carrying oxygen. The result is lower blood volume and pressure. If your low blood pressure comes with unusual fatigue, pale skin, or shortness of breath, a simple blood test can identify whether a deficiency is the underlying cause. Correcting it with supplements or dietary changes can resolve the blood pressure issue entirely.
Use Physical Counter-Pressure Techniques
When you feel symptoms coming on, specific muscle-tensing maneuvers can raise your blood pressure quickly enough to prevent fainting. These work by squeezing blood from your muscles back toward your heart. The Cleveland Clinic recommends three main techniques:
- Arm tensing: Grip one hand with the other and pull them against each other without letting go. Hold as long as you can or until symptoms pass.
- Leg crossing: Cross one leg over the other and squeeze the muscles in your legs, abdomen, and buttocks. Hold until you feel better.
- Handgrip: Squeeze a rubber ball in your dominant hand for as long as possible or until symptoms disappear.
These aren’t a permanent fix, but they’re effective in the moment, especially when you feel a dizzy spell starting in a grocery store line or while standing at an event.
Wear Compression Garments
When blood pools in your legs and abdomen (common in people whose blood vessels don’t constrict efficiently), less blood returns to your heart, and pressure drops. Compression stockings counteract this by physically squeezing blood upward. Most specialists recommend waist-high stockings rated at 20 to 30 mmHg or 30 to 40 mmHg of pressure. Knee-high stockings are easier to wear but less effective because they don’t address pooling in the thighs and abdomen. Putting them on first thing in the morning, before you stand, gives you the most benefit throughout the day.
Change How You Sleep and Stand
Sleeping with your head slightly elevated can help your body retain less fluid overnight and reduce the dramatic blood pressure drop many people experience when they first stand up in the morning. Research has tested head-of-bed elevations at angles of 6, 12, and 18 degrees using a wedge placed between the mattress and bed frame. Even a modest incline of 6 degrees (raising the head of your bed by about 6 inches) can make morning transitions easier.
How you get out of bed matters too. Sit on the edge of the bed for 30 seconds before standing. When you do stand, contract your leg muscles a few times first. If you’ve been sitting for a long time during the day, the same slow-transition approach applies: flex your calves, cross your legs, and rise gradually rather than popping up.
When Medication Is Needed
If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, two medications are commonly prescribed. One works by increasing your blood volume, helping your body hold onto more salt and water. The other, midodrine, narrows your blood vessels so they don’t expand as much, which keeps pressure higher when you’re upright. Both are typically used for orthostatic hypotension, the type where your pressure drops when you stand. Your doctor will usually try the non-drug approaches first and add medication only if symptoms persist and interfere with daily life.
Signs That Need Emergency Attention
Low blood pressure on its own is often manageable, but certain combinations of symptoms signal something more serious. If you feel very unwell or collapse, that warrants emergency care. The same applies if your low blood pressure symptoms occur alongside chest pain, breathlessness, a racing heart, a fever, or a recent injury. These combinations can indicate shock, a heart problem, or internal bleeding, all of which need immediate treatment.