Contents:
- Medical Video: Feel Dizzy When You Stand Up?
- Conditions that cause you often experience orthostatic hypotension
- 2. Heart problems
- 3. Endocrine problems
- 4. Nervous system disorders
- 1. Using compression on the stomach
- 2. Drink 2 liters of water a day
- 3. Rise up from sleep slowly
- 4. Practice your lower leg muscles for 30 seconds
- 5. Adequate sodium intake
Medical Video: Feel Dizzy When You Stand Up?
When lying down, about 30% of your blood is in the chest cavity. When you stand up, the gravitational force will cause blood to flow to the lower body parts, the stomach and legs. This causes a decrease in blood pressure, because the circulation of blood returning to the heart is reduced.
This decrease in blood pressure due to gravity will be detected by the body, then to handle it, a mechanism called baroreflex will work to trigger the heart and blood vessels to maintain your body's blood pressure.
However, if there is a failure of the baroreflex mechanism, or if there is a disruption in the organ system, this will trigger orthostatic hypotension. Orthostatic hypotension, also known as postural hypotension, is a condition when systolic blood pressure (top number) decreases by 20 mmHg or more, or diastolic blood pressure (lower number) decreases by 10 mmHg or more, within 3 minutes after standing.
Conditions that cause you often experience orthostatic hypotension
Even though it is quite common, dizzy headache when you are new to this can occur more often if you experience one of the following conditions:
1. Dehydration
Fever, vomiting, lack of drinking, severe diarrhea, and strenuous exercise with excessive sweating, all of these can cause dehydration which can reduce blood volume. Mild dehydration can cause symptoms of orthostatic hypotension such as dizziness and fatigue.
2. Heart problems
Some heart conditions that can cause low blood pressure include extreme heartbeat (bradycardia), heart valve problems, heart attacks, and heart failure. This condition prevents your body from responding fast enough to pump more blood when standing.
3. Endocrine problems
Thyroid conditions, Addison's disease, and low blood sugar can cause orthostatic hypotension.
4. Nervous system disorders
Neurological orthostatic hypotension can be caused by a state of neuropathy due to diabetes mellitus, as well as the presence of lesions in the center such as in Parkinson's disease.
What are the symptoms of orthostatic hypotension?
Orthostatic hypotension due to any cause, will result in a lack of blood flow to brain tissue, so that oxygen levels in the brain become less. As a result, the head becomes dizzy and blurred vision when you stand from a sitting or lying position. Symptoms that appear usually last less than a few minutes.
Other signs and symptoms that can accompany are:
- Firefly view
- Weak
- Heartbeat beats fast
- A cold sweat
- Fainted
- Nausea
How to deal with orthostatic hypotension?
The purpose of managing orthostatic hypotension is to increase blood pressure when standing without raising blood pressure when lying down. In addition, there are also several treatments to reduce the symptoms of orthostatic intolerance, as well as improve the ability to carry out daily activities.
The following are some of the things lifestyle changes can do easily and apply in daily life to help deal with orthostatic hypotension:
1. Using compression on the stomach
In an experiment, it was found that giving compression to the stomach can increase blood pressure when standing. The binder must be tight enough and give gentle pressure, used when going out of bed when you wake up in the morning and released when you want to lie down.
Abdominal compression can be used according to the needs of each person. If stomach pressure is not enough, you can add compression to the legs in the form of stockings.
2. Drink 2 liters of water a day
When you are traveling to tourist attractions, shopping to the market, or other activities that require you to stand prolonged, try drinking 2 cups of 500 ml cold water quickly, which can increase systolic blood pressure and improve symptoms and orthostatic endurance.
3. Rise up from sleep slowly
Lie down with your head slightly raised 15-20 degrees. Then, if you want to get out of bed, do it gradually, namely sitting first on the side of the bed for 5 minutes before standing up.
4. Practice your lower leg muscles for 30 seconds
This can increase blood flow back to the heart and help maintain blood pressure during daily activities. The technique that can be done is training the calf muscles, lifting your toes, and raising your feet. Mild exercise such as swimming and cycling are also recommended to increase plasma volume.
5. Adequate sodium intake
The content of sodium in salt also helps overcome the symptoms of orthostatic hypotension. The recommended salt intake is 10-20 grams a day. However, this must be done carefully and must be discussed in advance with the doctor. Too much salt can actually cause blood pressure to rise too high.
When to see a doctor?
Orthostatic hypotension usually lasts less than a few minutes, but if it occurs repeatedly for a long time, it can be a sign of a more serious medical disorder.
Because orthostatic hypotension can be caused by many possibilities, the doctor will evaluate the symptoms that are felt, do a physical examination, and maybe other additional examinations to find the underlying cause.
Mild orthostatic hypotension will usually improve with lifestyle changes but if there is no improvement, you should also consult a doctor and can be considered with drug administration other than lifestyle modification.
