Showing posts with label Postural Hypotension. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Postural Hypotension. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Postural Hypotension

Postural Hypotension






When a person suddenly gets up after sitting or lying down for long time, he may feel slightly dizzy. This condition is called postural hypotension. It is a mild elevated Blood Pressure observed when a person stands up after extended time of sitting. Some people may feel lightheaded or even faint for sometime during this episode. Postural hypotension occurs only for few seconds after standing up. Also called as orthostatic hypotension this blood pressure is not serious and does not require to be treated. But if the dizziness lasts for minutes then you need to consult your physician.


Symptoms :










Some of the common signs of postural hypotension are feeling dizzy, lightheaded or confused when a person stands up suddenly after sitting. He may have blurred vision or may feel suddenly weak, and sometimes he may faint. There will be slight confusion of thoughts for some minutes and on rare cases there can be nausea followed by vomiting. It is not a matter of concern when you get these symptoms only for few seconds. It is quite common for many adults to experience such symptoms after sitting for a lecture or after listening to concert or after prayer hours in the church.


Causes :


Postural hypotension can be caused due to diabetes and more particularly due to peripheral neuropathy. There is loss of sensation for few seconds or minutes due to lack of blood supply to the nerve. This is largely seen on aged people when they try to get up from the bed after hours of sleep. This condition is also observed on people with Parkinson’s disease and anemia.


This process can be explained as follows. As one gets up there will be increased flow of blood to the legs. This would automatically decrease the blood circulation in the heart. There are special cells in the heart for sensing the blood pressure and these cells become alert due to fall in blood pressure. This in turn will trigger more of blood to the heart giving rise to increased blood pressure.


Dehydration can cause postural hypotension since you will lose excess of fluids when you get dehydrated. You will feel weak and dizzy which would cause hypotension.


Certain heart related problems like bradycardia (low heart beat) or any other valve problems in your heart can trigger hypotension. Actually elevated blood pressure happens for preparing the body to respond rapidly thus pumping more of blood to the heart and sending it to your legs when you stand up. Diabetes and nervous system disorders can cause this problem.


Who are at risk?


Aged people or individuals above 70 can get postural hypotension. The special cells will naturally slow down to pump enough blood to the heart as one grows old. The heart will also become weak and would beat faster for compensating the reduced blood pressure causing hypotension.


Intake of certain powerful drugs like diuretics, beta blockers and benign prostatic hyperplasia can cause this problem. Certain diseases like Parkinson’s syndrome will pose risk to the heart thus lowering the blood pressure. People who are in bed rest for long time will obviously become weak and will experience hypotension when they suddenly get up. The stage of pregnancy can also cause hypotension thus dropping the blood pressure.


Diagnoses :


Your doctor would monitor your blood pressure continuously making you to sit and stand to find out if you have postural hypotension. He may request for complete blood culture, ECG and echo test for studying the heart function fully. For some people stress test is to be taken asking them to walk rapidly on treadmill thus making the heart to work harder. Your doctor will monitor the BP simultaneously.


Treatment :


Underlying cause has to be found out before giving any treatment for postural hypotension. For many people, there is no need for any treatment since it is quite common.


Treatment is given by reducing the dosage of blood pressure medications gradually. The affected person should make necessary changes in his lifestyle. He should drink plenty of water or fluids and avoid going out in hot sunlight. He should stand up slowly without making sudden movements. As per the instructions of the doctor, he should reduce or increase salt content in his diet.


It is recommended to use compression stockings for regularizing the blood flow to the legs so that the symptom of postural hypotension is reduced.


Drugs like fludrocortisones are prescribed for treating hypotension which would increase the fluid content in your blood. Midodrine is given for regularizing the blood pressure and reducing the level of blood vessels from expanding. NSAID, pyridostigmine or mestinon is given with other medicines for reliving the symptoms of hypotension.


Home Remedies :


You can add more salt in the diet after monitoring your blood pressure with your doctor. Drink plenty of fluids and keep the body hydrated. Do not get up suddenly from the sitting position. Do regular exercises and wear stockings to prevent accumulation of blood in the legs. Streamline your activities and slow down the pace of your activity while standing up after sitting for long hours.











Monday, May 09, 2016

Postural Hypotension – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

Postural Hypotension – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

What is Postural Hypotension?


Also referred to as Orthostatic Hypotension, this is a form of Blood Pressure that is too low and often causes lightheadedness or dizziness or even fainting when standing up from lying down or sitting.










The condition is normally quite mild, lasting only several seconds to several minutes after standing up. Any long-lasting postural hypotension may be an indication of problems that could be more severe. It is important to speak with your physician if this is happening frequently. If you are unconscious, even for moment, it becomes even more urgent to see your physician.


Postural hypotension that is mild does not need any treatment. Many individuals on occasion feel lightheaded or dizzy upon standing, and it is normally not a cause of any concern. Treatment for cases that are more serious is dependent on the underlying cause.


Postural Hypotension Symptoms


The symptoms of postural hypotension that are the most common are feeling dizzy and lightheaded when standing up after lying or sitting down. The feeling as well as other symptoms normally happens shortly after standing up and normally only lasts a few seconds. Other symptoms of postural hypotension include:



  • Vision that is blurry

  • Dizzy or lightheaded

  • Fainting known as Syncope

  • Weakness

  • Nausea

  • Confusion


Postural Hypotension Causes


When an individual stands up, the effects of gravity causes the blood in the leg to pool. This causes lower blood pressure since there is less blood flowing back to the heart to be pumped. Special cells or baroreceptors near the heart and the arteries in the neck feels this lowering blood pressure and counteracts this by triggering the heart to a faster beat, pumping more blood and this alleviates blood pressure to normal. Additionally, these cells trigger the narrowing of the blood vessels, and this raises resistance to blood flow increasing blood pressure.


Postural hypotension happens when the body’s natural process is interrupted in counteracting low blood pressure. Postural hypotension may be caused by many different things, such as:


Dehydration
Vomiting, fever, serious Diarrhea, exercise causing Excessive Sweating, not drinking enough fluids, can lead to dehydration. When an individual develops dehydration, the body drops blood volume. Even dehydration that is mild can create symptoms of postural hypotension. When an individual is dehydrated, the body drops blood volume. Even dehydration that is extremely mild may create symptoms of postural hypotension, for instance fatigue, weakness, and dizziness.
Problems of the Heart
Certain heart problems may cause blood pressure to lower including heart valve problems, exceptionally low heart rate or bradycardia, heart failure and Heart Attack. Such problems can cause postural hypotension due to the fact that it prevents the body’s ability to respond rapidly by pumping additional blood when needed, when standing up.


You're reading Postural Hypotension – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment posted by minhhai2d, the information is for reference only.








Disorders of the Nervous system
Certain diseases, for example Shy-Drager peripheral neuropathies, Parkinson’s disease, and Amyloidosis, may disturb the body’s blood pressure normal directive system.


Diabetes
Diabetes that is untreated causes in some cases dehydration by creating urination on a repeated basis. This may trigger postural hypotension. As well, diabetes may damage nerves that aid in sending signals managing the blood pressure.


Postural Hypotension Treatment


Treatment of postural hypotension is dependent on the cause that is underlying. The physician will attempt to take care of the underlying problem – heart failure or dehydration for example – rather than the low pressure itself. For postural hypotension that is mild, one of the easiest treatments is to lie down or sit down instantaneously after feeling lightheaded when standing. The symptoms of postural hypotension usually disappear.


When low pressure is due to treatment medication, it usually implicates changing the dose of the drug or stopping it completely. There are normally numerous selections for treating postural hypotension and these include:


Lifestyle changes
Drinking plenty of fluids, such as water; drinking no to little alcohol; avoiding walks during weather that is hot weather; and standing slowly are efforts that the physician can advise. The physician might also advise an exercise program to strengthen the muscles of your calf. If you do not have high pressure, your physician might advise increasing the quantity of salt in the diet.


Stockings for compression
The identical elastic leotards and stockings normally used to get rid of the swelling and pain of Varicose Veins can be an aid in reducing the blood pooling in the legs as well as reducing any symptoms of postural hypotension.


Medications
Numerous medications, either used alone or together, may be used in treating postural hypotension. For instance, the drug fludrocortisone is used to help raise the amount of fluid in the blood, and raises pressure. Physicians often use the drug midodrine or ProAmatine to raise standing levels of blood pressure. It works by limiting the capacity of the blood vessels to enlarge, which in turn, raises blood pressure. Other drugs, such as pyridostigmine or Mestinon, NSAIDS, caffeine and epoetin sold as Epogen or Procrit, are used also, either alone or with other drugs for individuals who are not helped with lifestyle changes or other medications.