What is the Connection Between Blood Pressure and Fatigue?

While there is no direct connection between blood pressure and fatigue, those who suffer from certain conditions may be more likely to have either high or low blood pressure combined with fatigue. For instance, fibromyalgia is a condition which causes debilitation fatigue and pain, and is often accompanied by low blood pressure, or hypotension. People who are obese or who have suffered from heart attack or stroke may be more likely to also have high blood pressure or hypertension. Sometimes, those with really low blood pressure may also experience fatigue.

Most patients with blood pressure disorders do not experience any symptoms until damage has been done to an organ system, oftentimes the heart muscle. If high or low blood pressure and fatigue happen together simultaneously, it is generally due to a secondary condition which causes both symptoms. Common ailments which may cause extreme fatigue and blood pressure issues include anxiety, fibromyalgia, and heart disease. In the majority of cases, neither condition alone is a symptom of the other.

Fibromyalgia patients may experience low blood pressure and fatigue combined with severe and often debilitating pain. Both symptoms of this condition can generally be managed using prescription medication. There is no cure for fibromyalgia.

Those who have certain conditions or symptoms of a condition may also be more likely to have high blood pressure and fatigue as well. Obesity, for example, is an extreme form of being overweight and may result in severe decreases in energy as well as dangerously high blood pressure. Both are generally caused by eating too many high fat foods and not enough healthy ones. Losing weight and introducing health promoting fruits and vegetables into the diet may reduce or alleviate symptoms.

Anxiety can also result in high blood pressure and fatigue. Constant worry and stress can raise blood pressure but causing the heart to beat faster and work harder thanks to an almost contrast state of fear. This is known as the “fight or flight” response, and it causes adrenaline to be pumped through the body at heightened levels in those with severe anxiety disorders. The human body can only keep going at this pace for so long, however, and the resulting crash often leads to debilitating fatigue and often depression.

Both high or low blood pressure and fatigue can be debilitating and can signal serious health conditions if not treated. Chronic fatigue is often due to malnutrition and inadequate vitamin intake, although it can occasionally signal serious diseases. High and low blood pressure are both potentially dangerous if not caught and treated, and can eventually lead to organ failure.