Hypotension is primary and secondary. Primary, in fact, is not treated. But the secondary, that is, that caused by other diseases, must be treated on time. The term "hypotension" is more or less clear to most people. But what is orthostatic hypotension? Symptoms and treatment of this problem - what are they?
How is hypotension manifested?
Many people with hypotension - low blood pressure, often experience dizziness with a sharp rise. But if the condition borders on a loss of consciousness and a strong heartbeat appears, then it is time to think about health.
Dizziness occurs for a simple reason - blood rushes into the lower extremities, and flows from the head. The brain simply does not receive oxygen for a short period of time, and it turns off, like a computer without power. In healthy people, vascular tone allows you to quickly pump blood, and the body manages to adapt to changing the body in space.
But with some problems with the vessels, with the activity of the heart or for other reasons (there may be many), recurring orthostatic collapse - a sharp drop in pressure - is a clear problem in life. Still, we have a fast pace of life and there is no time to lose consciousness, in fact.
If such episodes often occur and the head becomes more and more heavy at such moments, this is dangerous, as it can lead to a stroke if the vessels of the head can not stand it.
Orthostatic hypotension. Symptoms
Many do not know that this problem is dangerous. At the moment of falling, you can hit your head and get fractures. Also, all the deteriorating coordination of pressure in the vessels often leads to deterioration of the heart. After all, the load increases on our main motor with a drop in pressure in the vessels - the heart should increase the release of blood.
Symptoms of orthostatic arterial hypotension in humans are:
- sudden onset of weakness;
- darkening in the eyes and dizziness;
- auditory sensations are reduced;
- some note excessive sweating;
- sometimes cramps;
- heartbeat.
There are 3 severity of symptoms:
- Infrequent dizziness and general fainting. Easy degree.
- With an average degree, a person already sometimes loses consciousness, usually with a sharp change in body position.
- Severe degree. Orthostatic collapse occurs constantly - from a long standing or squatting, a clouding in the head already begins.
The fact is that orthostatic hypotension is not in itself a disease. This is a syndrome, and all its manifestations are indirect symptoms of other, more serious diseases. It is necessary to undergo examinations in time and find the problem, especially if it is heart failure that gives such symptoms.
Causes of the Syndrome
It will take a lot of tests and some procedures to establish the exact cause and know how to deal with orthostatic hypotension. Treatment should follow immediately after a diagnosis is established, since it is impossible to delay.
What causes orthostatic collapse?
- Prolonged state of immobility, especially bedtime.
- Adrenal insufficiency.
- Hypovolemia is a reduced content of the total amount of liquid blood in the vessels. This occurs sometimes at high temperature or due to severe loss of blood.
- CNS dysfunctions. Various neuropathies affect pressure.
- Reception of certain groups of medicines.
- Decreased myocardial contractility.
- Poor condition of blood vessels.
- Severe dehydration after vomiting or diarrhea.
- Anemia.
Also, age-related physiological changes affect blood pressure. Separately, it must be said about the role of the central nervous system. A person who often experiences such a syndrome should consult a neurologist and check for pathologies of the nervous network.
Hypotension syndrome or fainting? How to distinguish?
Fainting is completely unpredictable. A person cannot know where and for what reason he will lose consciousness. In addition, syncope occurs infrequently. In most cases, these are isolated manifestations of weakness, especially in the heat.
But when hypotension is detected, a person feels that it becomes bad precisely with sudden changes in body position in space.
How to eat with low blood pressure?
Since low blood pressure increases the risk of losing consciousness, a person with such pressure should adhere to a special diet. Some foods increase pressure. They are contraindicated in hypertensive patients, but are just useful for hypotensive patients.
You need to eat in portions - a little bit of everything and 5 or 6 times a day. So you will not starve, but your body will cope well with the digestion of food. You can eat sweets and fatty dishes, but only before dinner. And after lunch, it is better to switch to fish dishes, salads, buckwheat. It is very good to eat nuts every day, which give energy, but do not gain weight. Especially in such cases, almonds are useful.
ICD-10 code
How do doctors relate to orthostatic hypotension? Orthostatic collapse is recognized by the serious medical community. Orthostatic hypotension according to ICD-10 has the code I95.1.
According to the medical codebook, the syndrome is diagnosed when the systolic pressure during repeated measurement is lower than 100 mmHg. st .; and diastolic, lower, below 60 mm Hg. Art. So, we see that orthostatic hypotension is usually associated with heart failure and poor vascular conduction.
Hypotension as a neurological symptom
There are primary and secondary neurological syndromes and diseases that signal themselves as orthostatic hypotension.
Primary neuropathies include Shay-Drager syndrome, Riley-Day syndrome, and others. Bradbury-Eggleston syndrome affects the sympathetic part of the central nervous system and can also lead to pressure drops. All these ailments are purely genetic in nature. And secondary problems in the field of neurology include those that developed as a result of long-term diabetes mellitus, anemia, porphyria, amyloidosis. It also develops with alcoholism.
Hypotension and Diabetic Crisis
Diabetic hypoglycemia can also lead to fainting, but it cannot be considered a hypotension. With hypoglycemia, there will be:
- shiver;
- sweating
- dizziness;
- nervousness or marked anxiety;
- speech impairment;
- weakness.
Hypoglycemia is a very serious condition. Before diagnosing it, you need to pass many more tests. But what immediately distinguishes orthostatic collapse is the patient’s mental state. After all, with collapse, there is usually no panic. A person is completely mentally adequate and does not complain of anxiety or other emotional disturbances.
Doctor Examinations
To clarify the general condition of the patient who addressed the doctor with the above symptoms, the following procedures are performed:
- An electrocardiogram is done, the doctor should see the condition of the heart. Also, patients make an echocardiogram.
- Blood chemistry. If a person has low hemoglobin, then, of course, he will be constantly accompanied by weakness and dizziness.
- Vagus tests are done in order to calculate possible disorders in the nervous system.
- Be sure to check the health of the thyroid gland. Since insufficient production of hormones also provokes similar symptoms.
- For diagnostic purposes, blood pressure is measured in the supine position and within 2-3 minutes after the rise.
Some are prescribed a Holter study. This is a round-the-clock monitoring of the work of your heart, which is carried out to fully understand the health of the heart system.
If all indicators are normal and there are no problems with either the nervous system, or with the thyroid gland, or with neurology, the client can be sent to a psychologist with suspected neurosis.
What is equally important for the diagnosis is the patient’s nutrition. Often, women eat poorly, because they have no time, or are specially dieting, and then the body simply lacks nutrients and weakness occurs.
Importance of medical history
The doctor always collects a preliminary history, that is, collects information by interviewing the patient. With orthostatic hypotension, it is necessary to collect not only personal but also family history. If one of the relatives had problems with the heart or with the central nervous system, there is a risk that the hypotension is then hereditary.
A family history shortens the search for problems. It becomes clearer for the doctor where to look for the problem.
Treatment
So, orthostatic hypotension is revealed. Its causes are also examined in detail at the doctor’s appointment. After all, it is necessary to choose an adequate treatment. That’s why we come to the doctor.
How to treat? Orthostatic hypotension is not a common problem, such as the common cold. Based on the severity of the symptoms of the syndrome and the history, the doctor makes a conclusion about which treatment to resort to: medication or non-medication, or surgical intervention is necessary to eliminate heart defects.
Those who suffer from anemia should take iron-containing drugs, and for blood flow problems, blood-thinning drugs are prescribed, especially if a person is over 55 years old. Adrenomimetics, beta-blockers or steroids may be prescribed.
If it is veins, venotonics and compression tights are required. Varicose veins are one of the common problems leading to collapses. And this disease must be kept under control all the time.
After the collapse of a person, you need to put it on the sofa and provide an influx of fresh cool air.
When an ambulance arrives after a swoon, the victim is injected with a 10% caffeine solution or Cordiamine - 1 or 2 ml.
Prevention
The very first rule is to force yourself to move. If you have a day off, you need to go for a walk for 2-3 hours. You can’t lie on the sofa for a long time and then get up abruptly. If you have a problem such as dizziness, you need to get up slowly so as not to provoke a sharp drop in pressure. Strong physical activity is also contraindicated. Need a middle ground. For people with hypotension, weightlifting or sprints are not suitable, but yoga is good. Preferably, a prophylactic massage is needed 2 times a year. For massage, olive oil, coconut or almond oil is suitable.
If a person suffering from orthostatic attacks has varicose veins, prolonged standing on the legs is contraindicated. You need to do light exercises in the morning, and in the evening raise your legs on a stand so that they are above head level.