Most people spend their lives terrified of high blood pressure. They cut out salt, run until their lungs burn, and obsess over that top number. But what happens when the bottom number—the diastolic pressure—refuses to stay up? It's a weird, unsettling feeling. You stand up too fast and the world tilts. Your head feels like it’s floating in a bowl of soup. Honestly, having low diastolic pressure is just as draining as having hypertension, but nobody talks about it because everyone is so focused on the "silent killer" of high readings.
When we talk about how to increase diastolic blood pressure, we aren’t just looking for a quick fix. We’re looking at why your heart isn’t getting enough oxygen while it’s resting between beats.
That’s what the diastolic number is, basically. It’s the pressure in your arteries when your heart muscle relaxes. If that number dips below 60 mmHg, you’ve hit what doctors call diastolic hypotension. It’s a literal low point.
Why Your Bottom Number Actually Matters
Your heart is a pump that never stops, but it only feeds itself during the diastolic phase. Think about that. While the rest of your body gets blood during the "squeeze" (systole), the coronary arteries fill up when the heart is chilling for a split second. If that pressure is too low, the heart doesn't get its own dinner. This is why isolated diastolic hypotension is linked to markers of heart damage, like high-sensitivity troponin, as noted in studies published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
It isn’t just about feeling dizzy. Chronic low diastolic pressure can starve the heart muscle over time. You might feel fine sitting on the couch, but the moment you try to do something active, your body realizes the "fuel line" pressure is too weak. It’s frustrating. You’re not "sick" in the traditional sense, but you’re definitely not operating at 100%.
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Salt Isn't Always the Villain
We’ve been conditioned to view the salt shaker as a weapon. For most of the population, that’s fair. But if you are struggling with low diastolic numbers, sodium is suddenly your best friend.
Sodium helps your body hold onto fluid. More fluid means more blood volume. More blood volume means higher pressure. It’s simple physics.
You shouldn't just dump a tablespoon of salt into your palm and eat it, obviously. That's gross and potentially dangerous if you have other issues like kidney disease. But adding a bit of high-quality sea salt to your meals or sipping on a broth can make a massive difference in how you feel by mid-afternoon.
A lot of people find success with "therapeutic" salt intake. This doesn't mean eating processed junk food. It means intentionally adding electrolytes to your water. If you've ever tried those LMNT packets or even just a pinch of Himalayan salt in your morning liter of water, you know the "brain fog" lift is real.
The Hydration Trap
You can drink four gallons of water a day and still be dehydrated. If you don't have the minerals to pull that water into your bloodstream, you're just making your kidneys work overtime to produce clear urine. To increase diastolic blood pressure, you need volume that stays in the pipes.
- Drink water with electrolytes (magnesium, potassium, and sodium).
- Avoid drinking massive amounts of plain water on an empty stomach; it can actually flush out the salts you need to keep your pressure up.
- Monitor your caffeine. While coffee can spike blood pressure temporarily, it’s a diuretic. If you pee out more than you drink, your diastolic pressure will eventually tank.
What’s Your Medication Doing?
This is a big one. Often, people end up with low diastolic pressure because they are being treated for high systolic pressure.
Doctors see a top number of 150 and prescribe a heavy-duty beta-blocker or a diuretic. The top number comes down to 125—great! But the bottom number, which was already at 70, plummets to 55. This is called "over-treatment."
You have to be your own advocate here. If you’re taking Lisinopril or Amlodipine and you start feeling like a zombie every time you stand up, check your numbers. If that bottom number is consistently in the 50s, the medication might be working too well. Talk to your cardiologist about adjusting the dose or switching to a class of drugs that doesn't hit the diastolic pressure quite as hard.
The Alcohol Factor
Kinda counter-intuitive, right? Alcohol is famously linked to high blood pressure. But in the short term, and especially during the "hangover" or withdrawal phase the next day, it can cause your blood pressure to crater. Alcohol dilates your blood vessels (vasodilation). When your vessels are wide and relaxed, the pressure drops.
If you're already prone to low diastolic readings, that evening glass of red wine might be the reason you feel like you’re walking through waist-deep water the next morning. It’s worth cutting it out for two weeks just to see if your baseline shifts. Usually, it does.
Compression and Physical Hacks
Sometimes the problem isn't your heart; it's your veins. They get "lazy."
As we age, or if we have certain nervous system issues, our veins don't constrict as well when we stand up. Blood pools in the legs. To increase diastolic blood pressure in the moment, you can try compression stockings. Yeah, they aren't the height of fashion. But 20-30 mmHg compression socks keep that blood from getting stuck in your ankles, forcing it back up toward your heart and brain.
Another trick? "Counter-maneuvers." If you feel a dip coming on, cross your legs tightly while standing or clench your glutes and abdominal muscles. This manually squeezes the blood vessels and can bump your diastolic pressure up by 5 to 10 points almost instantly.
Nutrients You Might Be Missing
Anemia is a massive, often overlooked cause of low blood pressure. If you don't have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen, your heart has to work differently, and your overall pressure can suffer. Check your ferritin levels. Not just your "iron," but your stored iron (ferritin). If it's below 30 ng/mL, you’re likely feeling the effects.
Vitamin B12 is another culprit. A deficiency in B12 can lead to a specific type of anemia that messes with your pressure readings. Honestly, most people are walking around slightly deficient anyway because of gut issues or diet.
When to Actually Worry
Low diastolic pressure is usually a "quality of life" issue, but sometimes it’s a red flag. If your pressure is low because your heart valve is leaking (aortic regurgitation), no amount of salt is going to fix that. If you hear a "whooshing" sound in your ears or feel heart palpitations along with low readings, you need an echocardiogram.
Also, watch out for "Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome" (POTS). If your heart rate jumps by 30 beats per minute or more when you stand up, and your blood pressure goes wonky, your nervous system is likely misfiring.
Practical Steps to Raise the Bottom Number
If you’ve confirmed that your low diastolic pressure isn't from a failing heart valve, you can start being proactive.
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Large meals draw a ton of blood to your digestive tract, which causes peripheral blood pressure to drop. It’s called postprandial hypotension.
- Pump your ankles before getting out of bed. Before you even sit up, flex your feet up and down 20 times. It gets the blood moving.
- Review your supplements. Some things like garlic, magnesium, and high-dose omega-3s are great for lowering high blood pressure, but they might be pushing your already-low diastolic pressure even lower.
- Licorice root tea. This is an old-school herbalist trick. Real licorice (not the candy) contains glycyrrhizin, which prevents the breakdown of cortisol and helps the kidneys retain sodium. It's powerful stuff—so powerful that people with high blood pressure are told to avoid it. For you, it might be the "nudge" your system needs.
The Long Game
Increasing diastolic blood pressure isn't about hitting a specific "perfect" number like 80. It's about getting you out of the danger zone (below 60) and making sure you don't feel like you're about to faint every time you live your life.
Start with the salt and water. It’s the easiest lever to pull. If that doesn't work, look at your meds. If that doesn't work, check your iron and B12. Most of the time, the solution is a combination of these small shifts rather than one single "miracle" cure.
Listen to your body. If you feel better at 65 diastolic than 55, you're on the right track. You don't need to be "textbook" perfect; you just need to be functional and keep that heart muscle well-fed with the pressure it requires to stay healthy.