It’s quite common to feel dizzy when you stand up suddenly from lying down or sitting. It’s not considered a disease itself, but rather it could be a sign or a symptom pointing to the most dangerous life-threatening illness, say doctors.
According to Cardiologist Jeffery Courson, DO, when you stand up too quickly, the effects of gravity on your body can influence your blood to settle or pool in the veins in your lower body, causing a drop in your blood pressure.
Exercise Physiologist Michael Crawford from Cleveland Clinic further explains:
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It’s called orthostatic hypotension or postural hypotension and it’s essentially a form of low blood pressure.
Many things you do daily can affect how you regulate your blood pressure when you stand. Things such as age, medications, exercise, medical problems, dehydration, and even deconditioning can be associated with postural dizziness.
But if it happens due to inactivity, dizziness can also be a sign of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). This condition most frequently affects young women who may struggle to stay active.
According to the doctor, simple exercises can cure your dizziness.
“You can use semi-recumbent cycling, rowing machines and a seated stair-stepper to decrease the risk of syncope (passing out),” Crawford says.
He advises you stay away from free weights because a dizzy incidence can increase the chances you might drop the weight.
Also, avoid high-intensity work or exercises with a rapid change in position.
Pediatric cardiologist Peter Aziz, MD says that if you have a feeling of dizziness, followed by narrowed vision, muffled sense of hearing — fainted, it could be a sign of:
Syncope — the medical term for fainting — is defined as a temporary loss of consciousness and muscle control caused by low blood flow to the brain.
To put it more simply, fainting can occur when your blood pressure or heart rate drops suddenly.
It’s not a disease, a sign or a symptom that could potentially lead to a life-threatening illness, like a heart disorder. Although rare, fainting can be dangerous.
But most dangerous are fainting spells caused by episodes of a slow or fast rate can be due to a heart rhythm disturbance called ventricular tachycardia, or ventricular fibrillation (VFib).
In VFib, your heart fibrillates (races away in a disorganized fashion). After four to five seconds, you lose consciousness, stop breathing, and have no pulse. This is called sudden cardiac arrest.
If left untreated, this arrhythmia is universally fatal
warns Dr. Aziz.
The only way to abort this arrhythmia if it sustains is using an automated external defibrillator (AED).
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That’s why the doctor recommends, patients who suffer episodes of fainting should consult a physician immediately.
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