Dizziness or Vertigo is one of the most common issues associated with heart disease. Dizziness, itself is often used to describe characteristics of lightheadedness, nausea, and vertigo.
- Lightheadedness – The feeling of faintness, where an individual may soon pass out. Often, individuals will feel as if their surroundings are moving, with blood pressure fluctuations until they light down. This feeling causes nausea or vomiting as well.
- Vertigo – The feeling of the surroundings moving, when there is actually no movement occurring at all. An individual will feel completely off balance, spinning, or whirling – while the environment appears to be titled off its axis. Again, an individual will feel nauseated or experience vomiting, while also being unable to walk or stand straight, without losing their balance.
Causes
Lightheadedness
the feeling of lightheadedness is fairly common from time to time, and are not the result of any serious issue – but can have a number of different, mostly minor, causes.
However, when the feelings of lightheadedness occur more frequently, it is likely the result of momentary drops in blood pressure and poor blood flow to the brain. The change in blood pressure can occur due to standing up too quickly, either from as seated position or lying down. This can be spurred on by:
- Smoking or Tobacco Use
- Alcohol Consumption
- Prescription & Narcotic Drugs
- Stress
- Arrythmia& Other Cardiovascular Issues
Vertigo
Vertigo occurs due to a miscommunication between the signals sent to the brain and the body’s balance response. Our brains will misread the sensory inputs from our surrounding which are responsible for keeping our balance and orientation.
Decreased blood flow to the arteries at the base of the brain, is one of the most common cardiovascular causes of Vertigo. This can occur due to a variety of issues including:
- Heart Attack or Stroke
- Overmedicating or Overdose – taking too much of a specific drug.
- Smoking & Alcohol Abuse
- Atherosclerosis
- Blood Clots.
Treatment
Depending on the cause of your vertigo, dizziness or lightheadedness, there are a number of different treatment options. In order to treat these conditions, you must treat the root cause, and identify the source of blood flow issues or blood pressure fluctuations.
