Have you ever experience the lightheadedness or dizziness at the time of getting up from bed or from sitting to standing? Yes. It is nothing but Postural Hypotension which lasts for few seconds or minutes after standing. It occurs mainly due to abnormal changes in the blood vessels and heart rates. About 4.4% of young people and 5.8% of adults are facing this problem. There exist several causes for Orthostatic Hypotension. To ease the Postural Hypotension, one must know the causes for it. Do you know what causes Orthostatic Hypotension? No. Hence read the complete article to know the Postural Hypotension causes and get rid of it.
Postural Hypotension Causes
The low blood pressure often called as the Postural Hypotension or Orthostatic Hypotension. Mostly you can see this situation when you sit up from lying down and from sitting to standing position. Our body consists of many arteries and veins to carry the blood to various parts. Blood pressure is the one that pushes the blood towards the walls of arteries. When this blood pressure drops or falls, the person may encounter the Postural Hypotension. It occurs due to falling in systolic blood pressure of 20 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure of 10 mm Hg. Patients with the Postural Hypotension have the symptoms like dizziness, fainting, lightheadedness. The Orthostatic Hypotension occurs due to many reasons. The main causes of Postural Hypotension are dehydration, certain medicines, diseases, etc. Check the brief description of Orthostatic Causes here.
Also read: Home remedies for Hypertension
1. Dehydration
Dehydration is the leading cause of the Postural Hypotension. Due to fever, diarrhea, vomitings, less intake of the fluids, excessive urine results in loss of fluids. This may lead dehydration which in turn causes loss of blood volume. At this situation, you may encounter the symptoms of Postural Hypotension.
2. Hypovolemia
Hypovolemia is one of the Postural Hypotension causes. It is nothing but the loss of blood volume or loss of fluid in the blood vessels. The main reasons of the hypovolemia are bleeding, prolonged bed rest, and dehydration. Also, caused by using diuretics, vasodilators, or any other drugs. Hence, when the person come across this hypovolemia, he/she will face the symptoms of Postural Hypotension. The blood loss and the anemia result in the decrease of Red Blood Cells count. Then our body replaces the water in place of blood in the blood vessels. Due to this the oxygen capacity in the blood is decreased which in turn causes chest pain, shortness of breath, and weakness.
Read more: Complete guide to Postural hypotension
3. After the Meals
It is the natural cause of orthostatic hypotension. Some persons may encounter the low blood pressure after having the meals. This situation is also known as postprandial hypotension. We can see this condition more in the adult persons.
4. Some Diseases
Heart Problems
The abnormalities of the heart rates which are too slow and too fast may cause the lowering of blood pressure. Also, some heart disorders like heart valve problems, heart failure, and heart attacks are also the causes of Postural Hypotension. Since at these stages, the heart doesn’t pump the enough blood, especially when standing, the orthostatic hypotension occurs.
Must read: How to prevent a heart attack?
Endocrine Problems
Orthostatic hypotension causes include endocrine problems. These problems are thyroid glands, hypoglycemia, and Addison’s disease. Hypoglycemia occurs due to low blood sugar, and Addison’s disease is due to an insufficiency of adrenal glands.
Neurological Disorders
Nervous system disorders are also the causes of Postural Hypotension. The nervous system disorders include multiple system atrophy, Parkison’s disease. Also, the Lewy body dementia, atherosclerosis, amyloidosis also triggers the Hypotension by altering the blood pressure.
Diabetes
Among the causes of Postural Hypotension, Diabetes is also one. Patients with Diabetes may encounter the peripheral neuropathy which affects the nerves and in turn causes Orthostatic Hypotension. In addition to this, poorly controlled diabetes patients also come in contact with dehydration.
Know the complete information of Diabetes
Vasovagal Injury
In this condition, the heart rate slows down, and the blood vessels may dilate. This occurs due to excess activation of the parasympathetic system. The person may encounter the pain due to broken bones which act as the stimuli for that condition. At this situation, the patient may feel the symptoms like lightheadedness and fainting occur due to lowering of blood pressure.
5. Certain Medications
Some medications are also the postural hypotension causes. People who are using the medicines may face several health risks. Orthostatic hypotension is one among them. The medicines that cause the Hypotension are Beta blockers, alpha blockers, nitrates, calcium channel blockers.
Beta Blockers like metoprolol (Inderal) blocks the beta receptors in our body. This results in hearts speed in pumping, heart contraction, and dilating of blood vessels. All of these three effects prevents the body to respond the present situation.
Sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis) dilate the blood vessels and cause the Orthostatic Hypotension. Besides this, the medications taken with nitrates for the treatment of Angina pain are also the Postural Hypotension. The medications used to treat high blood pressure with some over counter products may also lead to low blood pressure. Also the
The medications used to treat high blood pressure with some over counter products may also lead to low blood pressure. Also, the medicines for the Psychiatric conditions like antidepressants also cause the Orthostatic Hypotension as its side effect. Certain muscle relaxants and antipsychotics medicines used to treat the narcotics and pains may also lead to Postural Hypotension.
Risk Factors of the Orthostatic Hypotension
Mostly this Postural Hypotension is seen in the adults. The risk factors faced by the persons having the Orthostatic Hypotension includes the following causes.
- As our age becomes increasing the hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis makes difficult to the blood vessels to adapt quickly.
- During pregnancy, the circulatory system expands quickly which results in lower blood pressure. This may lead to lightheadedness when you want to stand quickly. But the person becomes to normal position once they have given birth.
- Taking bed rest at the time of fever or any situation, you will become weak. Hence, at that time when you try to stand up, you will encounter the Postural Hypotension.
- Drinking too much of alcohol may increase the risk of Orthostatic Hypotension.
- Being exposure to heat, the persons may experience the sweating which is one of the causes of Postural Hypotension.
- Also, excessive sweating due to physical exercise may cause the dehydration which in turn shows the symptoms of Postural Hypotension.
Once you know the Postural Hypotension causes & feel the condition is severe contact the doctor and take the appropriate treatment. There are many drugs and medications to avoid the Orthostatic Hypotension. To know the complete information of Orthostatic Hypotension and its treatment, refer the below link.
Postural Hypotension: Definition, causes, symptoms, treatment