Low blood pressure, generally defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg, can be managed with a combination of dietary changes, physical aids, and in some cases prescription medications. What you take depends on how severe your symptoms are and what’s causing the drop. For mild cases, increasing salt and fluid intake is often enough. For persistent or more serious drops, especially when standing, medications that raise blood volume or tighten blood vessels may be needed.
Salt and Fluid Intake
The simplest and most common first step is eating more salt and drinking more water. Salt helps your body hold onto fluid, which increases blood volume and raises pressure. For people with orthostatic hypotension (the kind that makes you dizzy when you stand up), medical guidelines recommend significantly more sodium than the average diet provides. The American Society of Hypertension suggests 2,400 to 4,000 mg of sodium per day for these patients, while some specialists recommend even higher amounts, up to 4,000 to 8,000 mg daily depending on the condition.
For context, the typical dietary guideline for the general population caps sodium at about 2,300 mg per day. So if you have low blood pressure, you may be encouraged to do the opposite of what most people hear: add salt to your meals, eat salty snacks, or use sodium supplements. One study found that adding roughly 2,400 mg of supplemental sodium per day for two months improved standing tolerance and blood vessel control in people who were prone to fainting.
Water matters just as much. Fluids directly increase blood volume, and even mild dehydration can worsen low blood pressure. Alcohol works against you here since it’s dehydrating and lowers blood pressure even in moderate amounts.
Caffeine for Quick, Temporary Relief
A cup of coffee can give you a short-term bump. In people who don’t regularly consume caffeine, about 400 mg (roughly the amount in two strong cups of coffee) raises blood pressure by a small but measurable amount. The catch is that your body adapts quickly. In one study, the blood pressure increase disappeared by the third day of daily caffeine use. So caffeine works best as an occasional tool, not a daily strategy. If you already drink coffee every morning, it’s probably not doing much for your blood pressure anymore.
Compression Garments
Medical-grade compression stockings or abdominal binders physically squeeze your lower body, preventing blood from pooling in your legs when you stand. This keeps more blood flowing to your brain and heart, reducing dizziness and faintness. Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends starting with 20 to 30 mmHg pressure stockings. If those feel too tight or hard to put on, 15 to 20 mmHg is a gentler option. If they don’t feel like enough, you can move up to 30 to 40 mmHg. Waist-high stockings or abdominal compression bands tend to work better than knee-high socks because they cover more of the area where blood pools.
Vitamin B12
If your low blood pressure is caused by a nutrient deficiency, no amount of salt or compression will fix it until the underlying shortage is corrected. Vitamin B12 deficiency is one worth checking for. Low B12 can damage the nerves that control your blood vessels, impairing your body’s ability to tighten those vessels when you stand up. Normally, your nervous system detects the shift in blood flow and constricts vessels to push blood back toward your heart. When B12 deficiency disrupts that reflex, blood pools in your legs, and pressure drops. Correcting the deficiency with B12 supplementation (initially by injection, then oral tablets) has been shown to fully resolve hypotension in documented cases. Folate deficiency can cause similar problems through related mechanisms.
Prescription Medications
When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, several prescription options can help. These are typically reserved for people with persistent symptoms that interfere with daily life.
Fludrocortisone
This medication works by helping your kidneys retain more sodium and water, expanding your overall fluid volume. It starts at 0.1 mg daily, and doses above 0.5 mg rarely add benefit (the maximum is 1 mg). Because it increases fluid volume throughout the body, not just in your blood vessels, common side effects include swelling in the ankles and feet, headaches, and elevated blood pressure when lying down. It’s not appropriate for people who already have high blood pressure.
Midodrine
Rather than increasing fluid volume, midodrine tightens blood vessels directly, which raises pressure. One important detail: the last dose of the day should be taken at least three to four hours before bedtime, and not after dinner. The reason is that it can cause excessively high blood pressure when you’re lying down, leading to headaches, blurred vision, and a pounding sensation in your ears. Other common side effects include tingling of the scalp, urinary retention, and goosebumps.
Droxidopa
This medication is specifically for a type of low blood pressure caused by nervous system disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy, and pure autonomic failure. In these conditions, the nerves that normally signal blood vessels to tighten aren’t working properly. Droxidopa is converted into a chemical messenger in the body that compensates for this nerve damage. It’s a more targeted treatment and not used for garden-variety low blood pressure.
Simple Habits That Help
Beyond what you take, how you move through your day makes a real difference. Standing up slowly gives your body time to adjust. Crossing your legs while standing or squeezing your thigh muscles can push blood upward in a pinch. Eating smaller, more frequent meals helps because large meals divert blood to your digestive system, temporarily lowering pressure elsewhere. Elevating the head of your bed by a few inches (using blocks under the legs, not extra pillows) trains your body overnight to better handle upright posture.
If you’re taking blood pressure medications for another condition and experiencing symptoms of low pressure, those medications may need adjustment. Diuretics, certain antidepressants, and drugs for an enlarged prostate can all lower blood pressure as a side effect.