Dizzy spells link to strokes and brain disease

FEELING light headed when standing up may be a warning sign of dementia, a study claims.

Researchers warned that people who feel faint, dizzy or light headed when standing up may be experiencing a sudden drop in blood pressure called orthostatic hypotension.

Middle-aged people who experienced such a drop had a 54 per cent greater chance of developing dementia years later and double the chances of having a stroke.

Author Dr Andreea Rawlings, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US, said: “Measuring orthostatic hypotension (OH) in middle-age may be a new way to identify people who need to be carefully monitored for dementia or stroke.

“More studies are needed to clarify what may be BY MARTIN BAGOT reporters@dailyrecord.co.uk causing these links as well as to investigate possible prevention strategies.”

The study involved 11,709 people with an average age of 54 who were followed for 25 years.

They were all examined five times by researchers and told to lie down for 20 minutes then stand up in a smooth, swift motion.

Blood pressure was taken five times upon standing for each examination.

Researchers identified 552 participants with OH at the start of the study. It found 1068 people developed dementia and 842 people had an ischemic stroke, where blood flow is blocked to part of the brain. A total of 999 of the 11,156 without OH (nine per cent) developed dementia, compared to 69 out of the 552 people with OH (12.5 per cent). Those with OH also had twice the risk of ischemic stroke. A total of 15.2 per cent, or 84 out of 552 people, with OH had an ischemic stroke, compared to 6.8 per cent, or 758 of 11,157 people, without it. Dr Rawlings said: “We wanted to conduct a large study to determine if this form of low blood pressure was also linked to problems in the brain, specifically dementia.”