A newly published study by Harvard Medical School raises concern that early clues of an impending neurological disorder may be evident in people who become dizzy upon standing for a few minutes. The sole purpose of this study was to search for linking evidence between orthostatic hypotension and premature mortality risks.
Dr. Paul Wright is chair of neurology at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, both of which are located in New York. He expressed the implications of the findings, saying The data warrants a deeper and more extensive evaluation of this type of patient. It appears that consistent drops in blood pressure are not as benign as once thought."
During this 10-year study, researchers examined medical records in 230 participants, evaluating their body's ability to regulate blood pressure and heart rate. A decade later, researchers followed up with the available 165 participants. They found that of the 48 who initially had delayed orthostatic hypotension, the 10-year death rate was at 29%, while the 42 who were diagnosed with full-blown symptoms, had a death rate of 64%. Additionally, those with delayed orthostatic hypotension, developed full-blown symptoms in 54% of cases, and 35% of those cases had also developed degenerative brain disease.
Another remarkable statistic from the study revealed that approximately 29% to 64% of those participants who were found to have this significant decrease in blood pressure during the study died compared to a 9% mortality rate in the healthy study participants.
Dr. Christopher Gibbons, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, and lead research author describes the new data as striking", but assures people that they should not assume they are developing brain disease based on dizziness alone. He added, This is a person who's been fine standing, and gradually gets worse and worse and worse, until they have to sit down. We're talking about people who feel like they're going to faint after standing in line at the grocery store or the Department of Motor Vehicles."
Those interested in learning more about these new findings should visit http://vascuvite.com/uncategorized/blood-pressure-nervous-system/.
