Hypotension symptoms may include dizziness after standing up: study

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A new Harvard study reveals that those who experience faintness and lightheadedness minutes after standing up may be prone to dementia, Parkinson's disease and risk of early death.

Those who regularly experience dizziness a few minutes after standing up might get checked by their doctor, because according to Harvard Medical School researchers, it could be a sign of a serious medical condition called delayed orthostatic hypotension.

According to the report by Telegraph, those with delayed hypotension had higher death rates at nearly 30 percent in the next 10 years. Diagnosed patients also had a rate of 31 percent increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, dementia or presence of Lewy bodies. And more than 50 percent of those who already have delayed hypotension are likely to have a more serious form of the disease and increased risk of death.

"Our study looked at delayed orthostatic hypotension, when the drop in blood pressure happens more than three minutes after standing or sitting up. Our findings suggest that more than half of people with the delayed form of this condition will go on to develop the more serious form of this disease," said study researcher Dr. Christopher Gibbons from the US Harvard Medical School. "This is also the first study to date suggesting the disease is a milder form of the more common and serious disorder."

For the study, Gibbons and colleagues analyzed nervous system tests from 165 elderly people. They found that 48 were diagnosed with delayed orthostatic hypotension, 42 had orthostatic hypotension, while the rest have neither the condition. All participants were followed for a decade.

After the study period, more than half of the patients who were diagnosed with delayed orthostatic hypotension had orthostatic hypotension, while 31 percent had either Parkinson's or dementia. According to the report by Medical Daily the death rate of those with delayed orthostatic hypotension was 29 percent, 64 percent for orthostatic hypotension patients and 9 percent for those without either condition. Half of those with progressed forms of orthostatic hypotension died.

"These data suggest that delayed orthostatic hypotension is an earlier, milder form of orthostatic hypotension that, with time, will progress to orthostatic hypotension in more than half of the patients and carries a similar poor prognosis," the study authors wrote.

However, Dr. Gibbons explained that not everyone who becomes dizzy after standing up should panic. According to the report by WebMD, there are other causes of dizziness including dehydration, diabetes, inner ear disorder or a side effect of taking blood pressure medication.