30/10/2025
If you feel dizzy every time you stand up suddenly, read this?
This condition is known as Orthostatic Hypotension, and this happens when a person’s blood pressure drops significantly when they stand up from a sitting or lying position. This sudden drop in blood pressure can cause symptoms like dizziness, lightheadedness, blurred vision, weakness, or even fainting (called syncope).
Usually, in a healthy person, what happens is, the body quickly adjusts to changes in position to maintain stable blood flow to the brain and other organs. This adjustment involves a coordinated response between the heart, the blood vessels, and the nervous system.
When you stand up, gravity pulls blood down into your legs and lower body, temporarily reducing the amount of blood returning to the heart. As a response to this, your blood vessels are supposed to constrict (tighten), and your heart rate increases slightly to maintain adequate blood pressure and blood flow to the brain.
However, as we become older or suffer from certain medical conditions, these automatic response system slow down or become less effective. Our blood vessels may not constrict quickly enough, and blood pressure can drop too low, and fast too. This results in reduced blood flow to the brain, leading to dizziness, imbalance, or even fainting.
Common causes of orthostatic hypotension include:
1. Dehydration or low blood volume (from bleeding including menstruation, vomiting, diarrhea, or diuretics),
2. Certain medications (especially those for high blood pressure or depression),
3. Aging (natural slowing of the body’s regulatory responses),
4. Neurological conditions (like Parkinson’s disease or diabetes-related nerve damage),
5. Prolonged bed rest or immobility,
6. Alcohol use or profuse sweating as a result of hot environments (which dilate blood vessels).
To manage orthostatic hypotension, you need to:
1. Staying well hydrated
2. Practice to rise slowly from beds or chairs
3. Flexing the legs before standing
4. Try to clench your buttocks firmly when you stand up and you feel dizzy,
5. Also, speak with your doctor to adjust your medication if you are on any medication that could make you experience it.
On its own, Orthostatic hypotension is not dangerous unless you fall down and hurt yourself, but in severe or chronic cases, further medical evaluation is needed to identify and treat the underlying cause.