Everyone gets a little dizzy now and then. Head rushes from getting up too fast are something everyone experiences, as is low blood sugar.
But if you’re consistently dizzy several minutes after you stand up, it may be something less normal.
Most likely, it’s something called delated orthostatic hypotension. And while you should never try to diagnose yourself on the internet, this condition may be something to look into.
To break down that long medical name, “orthostasis” means “upright posture,” and “hypotension,” of course, means “low blood pressure.” The delayed part comes in with the fact that it doesn’t happen immediately.
So officially, it’s when your blood pressure drops within three minutes of standing or sitting, but not until ATER three minutes have passed.
A study was recently done on this condition by Dr. Christopher Gibbons, a fellow with the American Academy of Neurology.
The symptoms are simple: dizziness, lightheadedness or faintness.
There has been little research done on this condition until now. What research was done found that the delayed condition occurs as often as regular orthostatic hypotension, though now people believe it’s a milder version of the real condition.
But now, a study had been done to find out more.
They tracked the death rate over a decade of people averaging 59 years old. Over half of those with delayed orthostatic hypotension progressed to regular orthostatic hypotension.
Of those people, half of them died in ten years.
So for those of you who feel like you may be at risk for this, or know they have a family history of it, talk to your doctor about whether or not you have this condition. It could save your life.
