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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Dizziness In An Elderly Woman While On BP Medication?

I have a 59 year old female who complains the room is spinning around and and she is dizzy. These symptoms started last night during the night. She tried to shave her legs and almost fell out of the shower. She is on blood pressure medication and is taking it as directed. Her blood pressure in 114/96 currently.
Sat, 3 Sep 2016
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Thank you for the query.
I would like to enquire whether she is suffering from any other conditions like Diabetes mellitus or ischemic heart disease. Also I would like to know the regime of her BP medications.
If she is on diuretics (frusemide, hydrochlorthiazide) or alpha blockers (Prazosin), postural dizziness may occur (i.e dizziness which occurs on changing posture for eg when standing from a sitting position). Associated diabetes may make things worse. A BP of 114/96 mm of Hg (if correctly measured), suggests a low volume status (pulse pressure of 18 mm of Hg). Please get the BP rechecked and if it remains the same, the medication regime may need to be changed. Please get a 12 lead ECG and Echo done to rule out any ischaemic heart disease ad to check the heart rate and rythm (too low or too high heart rate may cause dizziness). Since she is 59, her hemoglobin needs to be assessed to rule out anemia (causes weakness and dizziness). After rechecking the BP regime and ruling out ischaemic heart disease, if the problem persists, an ENT check-up can be done, as this can lead to dizziness (though in strict terms it is vertigo)

Hope this helps
Regards
Dr Ayusmati Thakur
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What Causes Dizziness In An Elderly Woman While On BP Medication?

Thank you for the query. I would like to enquire whether she is suffering from any other conditions like Diabetes mellitus or ischemic heart disease. Also I would like to know the regime of her BP medications. If she is on diuretics (frusemide, hydrochlorthiazide) or alpha blockers (Prazosin), postural dizziness may occur (i.e dizziness which occurs on changing posture for eg when standing from a sitting position). Associated diabetes may make things worse. A BP of 114/96 mm of Hg (if correctly measured), suggests a low volume status (pulse pressure of 18 mm of Hg). Please get the BP rechecked and if it remains the same, the medication regime may need to be changed. Please get a 12 lead ECG and Echo done to rule out any ischaemic heart disease ad to check the heart rate and rythm (too low or too high heart rate may cause dizziness). Since she is 59, her hemoglobin needs to be assessed to rule out anemia (causes weakness and dizziness). After rechecking the BP regime and ruling out ischaemic heart disease, if the problem persists, an ENT check-up can be done, as this can lead to dizziness (though in strict terms it is vertigo) Hope this helps Regards Dr Ayusmati Thakur