Blood pressure lying down and standing
Without blood pressure, our body would not receive the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function properly. The heart has two motions – contracting and relaxing, so blood pressure is, therefore, recorded as two numbers over each other. Systolic is the actual beat of the heart and diastolic is when the heart relaxes. Systolic pressure is listed over diastolic, such as 120 over 80, which is normal blood pressure.
All sorts of conditions can have an impact on your blood pressure reading. Disease, stress, weight, and even posture can impact your blood pressure level. Moving from a standing to a supine (lying down) position could result in different readings.
In healthy patients there is normally little difference between lying and standing blood pressure.
However, a significant fall (20mmHg or more) can occur in older people, patients with diabetes and those with symptoms suggesting postural hypotension.
It is not uncommon to feel a slight drop in blood pressure and, perhaps, experience a slight lightheaded feeling, but when the feeling lasts for a few minutes and when it happens on a regular basis, you should investigate further. It is advisable to measure both lying and standing blood pressure routinely in these patients.