“Extreme dizziness, higher BP and flushing of face?”
I am a very active 63 year old (5'6", 130 lb. male) I daily usually do a least one of the following mt bike, road bike, hike pickleball, softball, or weight train several hours a day. I recently tried to get out of bed and my head started spinning and my eyes fluttered. It knocked me straight onto my back. It has happened several times a day over the past week. It usually happens at night or in the morning when I first get up. My blood pressure has been a little sporadic. Last night it was 145/95 and my face felt flush and I was a little unbalanced. I have felt a little occasional "buzzing" in my head and ears. Even the last couple of nights after going to bed, I had an episode of extreme dizziness--that lasted just a few seconds.
I have continued my exercise this past week and fortunately haven't had an episode while doing so. I hike 1 day, mountain biked 2 days, and road biked about 30 miles yesterday. One other important note: Even though very active my entire life, I did (to everyone's surprise) have 3-100% blockages in my heart 7 years ago and had a triple bypass. (I was still competing in sporting events until just a week before they found out--I was only slightly out of breath). I had zero heart damage due to some collateral arteries that had developed and probably (according to the doctor) saved my life and heart.
I am on 2 different cholesterol meds to keep my levels low--80mg of Atorvastatin and 10mg of Ezetimibe. The latter one was added about 3 months ago. In a recent lab, my LDL was now 59--vs @100-120 before they added the Ezetimibe. I was on losartan (12.5mg) for a year or so, but my blood pressure would get too low and I would get dizzy. I was weaned off it about 8 months ago and my typical BP was about 115/75 thereafter.
I have continued my exercise this past week and fortunately haven't had an episode while doing so. I hike 1 day, mountain biked 2 days, and road biked about 30 miles yesterday. One other important note: Even though very active my entire life, I did (to everyone's surprise) have 3-100% blockages in my heart 7 years ago and had a triple bypass. (I was still competing in sporting events until just a week before they found out--I was only slightly out of breath). I had zero heart damage due to some collateral arteries that had developed and probably (according to the doctor) saved my life and heart.
I am on 2 different cholesterol meds to keep my levels low--80mg of Atorvastatin and 10mg of Ezetimibe. The latter one was added about 3 months ago. In a recent lab, my LDL was now 59--vs @100-120 before they added the Ezetimibe. I was on losartan (12.5mg) for a year or so, but my blood pressure would get too low and I would get dizzy. I was weaned off it about 8 months ago and my typical BP was about 115/75 thereafter.
Male | 63 years old
Complaint duration: 7 days
1 Answer
Sir,
You seem to be in very good physical condition, despite having had coronary artery disease. You don't say whether you smoked cigarettes or used alcohol. I presume you are not using these at present. The symptoms could be due to several different causes. Uncontrolled blood pressure can cause these problems. You were taking Losartan and now you're not. You may need a low-dose medication to control your BP. If your BP is elevated early in the AM, you may need something before bed time to control this. You don't say what your heart rate is normally, I would again presume it is low due to all the exercise you do. However, if it's high, a Beta blocker may help. Dizziness can be caused by numerous things as well. The room spinning around can be vertigo, usually BPV, benign positional vertigo. Good hydration can help, but sometimes medication is required. As the name suggests, changes in position can bring this on. There are more serious causes, like Carcinoid Syndrome, however, without a complete history and physical exam, it is difficult to give you a good answer. Lab work, including blood and urine tests might help. Your physician will know which tests to order. Try to document when symptoms occur, this will make it easier to determine a cause. You should also document anything that precipitates an event.
You seem to be in very good physical condition, despite having had coronary artery disease. You don't say whether you smoked cigarettes or used alcohol. I presume you are not using these at present. The symptoms could be due to several different causes. Uncontrolled blood pressure can cause these problems. You were taking Losartan and now you're not. You may need a low-dose medication to control your BP. If your BP is elevated early in the AM, you may need something before bed time to control this. You don't say what your heart rate is normally, I would again presume it is low due to all the exercise you do. However, if it's high, a Beta blocker may help. Dizziness can be caused by numerous things as well. The room spinning around can be vertigo, usually BPV, benign positional vertigo. Good hydration can help, but sometimes medication is required. As the name suggests, changes in position can bring this on. There are more serious causes, like Carcinoid Syndrome, however, without a complete history and physical exam, it is difficult to give you a good answer. Lab work, including blood and urine tests might help. Your physician will know which tests to order. Try to document when symptoms occur, this will make it easier to determine a cause. You should also document anything that precipitates an event.
