Risk factors for orthostatic hypotension include being age 65 or older, certain diseases, some medications, pregnancy, and alcohol use. In older people, the condition may indicate an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, or heart failure.
Causes of orthostatic hypotension
Fever. Prolonged bed rest. Excessive amounts of alcohol. Some medications, such as some diuretics or antihypertensive (high blood pressure) medications.
Lifestyle Risk Factors
Alterations in blood sugar, like those caused by diabetes, can lead to hypotension. Eating habits: Some older patients, especially those with existing high blood pressure, can experience postprandial hypotension, where the blood pressure drops suddenly after eating a large meal.
The risk of orthostatic hypertension has been found to increase with age, with it being found in 16.3% of older hypertensive patients.
This finding may suggest that orthostatic hypertension is primarily driven by increased vascular resistance. Given the contribution of blood viscosity to vascular resistance, excess plasma shifts with standing could contribute to the response.
Orthostatic hypotension causes may include: Your heart can't pump as much blood as it should. Your autonomic nervous system (which usually brings your blood pressure back to normal) isn't working right. You have Parkinson disease, Lewy body dementia or multiple system atrophy.
Low blood pressure is also known as hypotension. People with a reading of around 90/60, or less, are commonly regarded as having low blood pressure.
Lifestyle — smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, excess dietary salt, unhealthy diet, obesity, and lack of physical activity are associated with hypertension. Anxiety and emotional stress — can raise blood pressure due to increased adrenaline and cortisol levels.
Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is strongly age-dependent, with a prevalence ranging from 5% to 11% in middle age to 30% or higher in the elderly.
Keeping hydrated helps prevent symptoms of low blood pressure. Drink plenty of water before long periods of standing, or any activities that tend to trigger symptoms. Avoiding alcohol. Alcohol can worsen orthostatic hypotension, so limit or avoid it completely.
The drop in blood pressure may be sudden (vasovagal orthostatic hypotension), within 3 minutes (classic orthostatic hypotension) or gradual (delayed orthostatic hypotension).
Coffee, tea, energy drinks, and soda all contain caffeine, which is known to increase blood pressure.
The less you sleep, the higher your blood pressure may go. People who sleep six hours or less may have steeper increases in blood pressure. If you already have high blood pressure, not sleeping well may make your blood pressure worse.
Complications of untreated hypotension with poor cardiac output are severe and can ultimately lead to death. In impending shock or fulminant shock, untreated hypotension can lead to multi-organ failure.
Most doctors don't consider hypotension serious unless it produces noticeable symptoms such as: Nausea. Fainting. Dehydration.
When standing from a sitting or lying position, gravity causes blood to collect in the legs and belly. Blood pressure drops because there's less blood flowing back to the heart. Usually, special cells (baroreceptors) near the heart and neck arteries sense this lower blood pressure.
Your brain usually shows the first symptoms of hypotension. Besides dizziness and nausea, your spirits might be low, you might lack energy, and find it hard to think straight. Some people feel lightheaded enough to faint or notice cold, clammy skin, faster breathing, blurry vision, or chest pain.
Some research suggests coffee can lower the risk for high blood pressure, also called hypertension, in people who don't already have it. But drinking too much coffee has been shown to raise blood pressure and lead to anxiety, heart palpitations and trouble sleeping.
This suggests that emotional stress can induce hypotension, probably through hyperventilation, in subjects with autonomic failure. An important feature of autonomic failure is orthostatic hypotension, giving rise to sensations of light headedness or frank syncope following standing up or during prolonged standing.
Orthostatic hypotension is a manifestation of abnormal BP regulation due to various conditions, not a specific disorder. Evidence increasingly suggests that disorders of postural hemodynamic control increase risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.
Beverages like skim milk, tomato juice, and beet juice may help decrease blood pressure. But it's always important to remember moderation — more of these drinks is not always better.