Low blood pressure, generally defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg, doesn’t always need treatment. But if it’s causing dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, or fatigue, there are concrete steps you can take to bring your numbers up and feel better. The approach combines immediate physical techniques for acute episodes with longer-term habits around fluid, salt, and movement.
What to Do During a Dizzy Spell
When you feel lightheaded or woozy from a blood pressure drop, the fastest thing you can do is change your body position and tense your muscles. These counter-pressure maneuvers physically squeeze blood back toward your heart and brain, and the American Heart Association recommends several specific ones.
Squatting is the most effective in-the-moment option. Lower yourself into a squat, tense your leg and abdominal muscles, and stay there until the dizziness passes. When you stand back up, do it slowly.
Leg crossing with muscle tensing works if you can’t squat. Cross your legs and squeeze your thigh, buttock, and abdominal muscles simultaneously. You can do this standing or lying down.
Arm tensing is the most discreet option. Grip your hands together, interlocking your fingers, and pull your arms in opposite directions with maximum force. Alternatively, clench your fist as hard as you can around any object. Either technique raises blood pressure within seconds.
If you’re standing when symptoms hit, sit or lie down immediately. Falling from a faint is often more dangerous than the low blood pressure itself.
Increase Your Salt Intake
This is the opposite advice most people hear about blood pressure, but for people with chronic low blood pressure, salt is a primary treatment. Sodium helps your body retain fluid, which increases blood volume and raises pressure.
Medical guidelines for people with orthostatic hypotension (blood pressure drops when standing) recommend 2,400 to 4,000 mg of sodium per day. For comparison, the typical recommendation for the general population is under 2,300 mg. Some specialists recommend even higher amounts, up to 4,800 mg daily, for conditions like POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome).
One study found that people who fainted from standing and added roughly 2,400 mg of supplemental sodium to their daily diet saw measurable improvements in blood flow regulation and orthostatic tolerance within two months. Practical ways to boost sodium include salting your food more generously, drinking broth, eating pickles or olives, and using electrolyte drinks rather than plain water for some of your daily fluids.
Drink More Fluids
Dehydration is one of the most common and most fixable causes of low blood pressure. When your blood volume drops, your heart has less fluid to pump, and pressure falls. Most people with symptomatic low blood pressure benefit from drinking significantly more water than they currently do, aiming for 2 to 3 liters per day spread throughout the day rather than consumed all at once.
Timing matters too. Drinking 12 to 16 ounces of water about 15 minutes before you eat a meal can help prevent the blood pressure dip that some people experience after eating. This post-meal drop happens because your body diverts blood to your digestive system, leaving less circulating elsewhere.
Preventing Post-Meal Blood Pressure Drops
Some people experience their worst symptoms after eating, a pattern called postprandial hypotension. Large, carbohydrate-heavy meals are the biggest trigger because they cause more blood to pool in the digestive tract.
The fix is straightforward: eat smaller, more frequent meals (six instead of three), keep carbohydrate portions modest, and drink water before you sit down to eat. A caffeinated beverage before breakfast or lunch can also help, since caffeine temporarily constricts blood vessels and nudges pressure up. If these changes aren’t enough, a doctor can prescribe medication specifically designed to slow carbohydrate absorption during meals.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression stockings work by preventing blood from pooling in your legs, which is a major contributor to the lightheadedness you feel when standing. They physically squeeze blood upward toward your heart.
Not all compression stockings are equal. Most specialists recommend waist-high stockings rated at 20 to 30 mmHg or 30 to 40 mmHg of pressure. Knee-high stockings are more comfortable but less effective because blood can still pool in the thighs. The higher the pressure rating, the more benefit you’ll get, but also the harder they are to put on. Starting at 20 to 30 mmHg is reasonable for most people.
Change How You Move
Many blood pressure drops happen during transitions: getting out of bed, standing up from a chair, or reaching overhead. Small changes to how you move through these moments can make a noticeable difference.
When getting out of bed in the morning, sit on the edge for 30 to 60 seconds before standing. Flex your feet and squeeze your calves a few times while sitting. When standing from any seated position, rise slowly and have something nearby to hold onto. Avoid standing still for long periods. If you have to stand in line or at a counter, shift your weight, rock on your heels, or do the leg-crossing technique described above.
Regular exercise also helps over time. Cardiovascular activity trains your blood vessels to respond more efficiently to position changes. Swimming and recumbent cycling are especially good starting points because they keep your body horizontal, avoiding the gravity challenge while still building cardiovascular fitness.
Check Your Medications
Several common medication classes lower blood pressure as a side effect. Diuretics (water pills), beta-blockers, certain antidepressants, drugs for Parkinson’s disease, and erectile dysfunction medications can all contribute. If your low blood pressure symptoms started or worsened after beginning a new medication, that’s worth a conversation with your prescriber. Sometimes a dose adjustment or a switch to a different drug in the same class is all it takes.
Prescription Treatment Options
When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, two medications are commonly prescribed for chronic low blood pressure. One works by increasing your blood volume, helping your body retain more salt and water. The other works by narrowing your blood vessels so the same volume of blood creates more pressure against the vessel walls. Both are specifically used for orthostatic hypotension, the type that causes symptoms when standing.
These medications are typically added after salt, fluids, compression, and movement strategies have been tried first, since the lifestyle measures often provide significant relief on their own and don’t carry side-effect risks.
Signs That Need Emergency Attention
Most low blood pressure is uncomfortable but not dangerous. However, a severe drop can lead to shock, which is a medical emergency. Call 911 if you or someone else experiences confusion (especially in older adults), cold or clammy skin, rapid shallow breathing, a weak and rapid pulse, or a noticeable loss of skin color. These symptoms together suggest that vital organs aren’t getting enough blood flow, and waiting it out is not safe.