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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Sudden Drop In Blood Pressure Levels?

my husband did not eat anything today and he went to town and came home really hungry and did not drink any fluids except coffee this morning. He started to eat and drank a small amount of milk this afternoon and all of the sudden he went pail and looked like he was going to pass out. then he went limp and finally went down to the floor but did not fully pass out. He laid down for a second and I gave him some sugar straight up and a glass of orange juice as I have seen people with low blood sugar do this same thing before. His color slowly came back and I got a Propell energy drink down him and a small amount of chicken we were having prior to this incident. When I took his blood pressure with our home monitor his blood pressure was like 89 over 60 something and I watched him for a few and watched his color come back to his face and his eyes seemed to focus and he was fully awake and aware said he was tired, took his blood pressure one more time and it was 105 over 70. What happened????
Sat, 14 Jul 2018
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Internal Medicine Specialist 's  Response
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service.

I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

Please, do not worry. Sudden drop in blood pressure along with dizziness or light-headedness after a meal is postprandial hypotension. It is a common functional disorder in elder people. The underlying mechanism is not clearly understood. It is most likely the autonomic nerve dysfunction causes sudden drop in blood pressure after a meal. Postprandial hypotension is diagnosed by taking patient history, physical exam and measuring blood pressure before and after a meal. The disorder is easily managed by eating several times small meals a day, avoiding large meals and drinking water before the meals.
If these life style modifications do not improve his condition, your husband may need further medical investigation to find out other causes of postprandial hypotension.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Thank you,
Malik Amonov MD
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What Causes Sudden Drop In Blood Pressure Levels?

Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. Please, do not worry. Sudden drop in blood pressure along with dizziness or light-headedness after a meal is postprandial hypotension. It is a common functional disorder in elder people. The underlying mechanism is not clearly understood. It is most likely the autonomic nerve dysfunction causes sudden drop in blood pressure after a meal. Postprandial hypotension is diagnosed by taking patient history, physical exam and measuring blood pressure before and after a meal. The disorder is easily managed by eating several times small meals a day, avoiding large meals and drinking water before the meals. If these life style modifications do not improve his condition, your husband may need further medical investigation to find out other causes of postprandial hypotension. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Thank you, Malik Amonov MD