Orthostatic Intolerance
The "Simple" Act of Standing Up Humans: We are the only inhabitants of Earth that are able to walk upright on two legs all the time. The reason we are able to do this is because of the complexity of our body’s make-up. When you stand up, your body automatically adjusts to the pull of gravity, thanks to the Autonomic Nervous System, by increasing vascular tone, heart rate, and cardiac output. Your blood vessels will contract, your heart rate increases, and your systolic blood pressure remains the same or decreases slightly while the dialostic blood pressure increases slightly.
Systolic/ Dialostic = 120/80 (an example of a blood pressure reading)
Why is it so important for your body to fight gravity?
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-If your body doesn’t fight gravity, all the blood in your body would pool in your lower extremities and not get back up to your brain. If your brain doesn’t get enough blood it is being deprived of oxygen. If your brain doesn’t get enough oxygen you experience unconsciousness as in a faint (syncope). If your brain still doesn’t get enough oxygen you could experience a convulsive seizure or possibly death.
Orthostatic Intolerance
The "simple" act of standing up isn’t so simple for some people. These individuals are said to have what is called Orthostatic Intolerance.
Orthostatic Intolerance is an "umbrella" term for several conditions in which symptoms are made worse by upright posture. Some include:
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Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP)
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Idiopathic Hypovolemia
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Neurally Mediated Hypotension (NMH)
It is estimated that over 500,000 Americans have some sort of chronic orthostatic intolerance, but despite the enormity of numbers, these conditions are the least understood of the autonomic disorders.
Some Symptoms of Orthostatic Intolerance include:
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- recurrent fainting (syncope) or near fainting
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- tachycardia or bradycardia
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- low/ high blood pressure
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- dizziness, lightheadedness
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- nausea/ vomiting
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- paleness/ flushing
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- clamminess, excessive sweating, or lack of sweating
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- cognitive impairment, brain fog, poor concentration, memory loss
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- cold extremities, chills, or feeling warm all over
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- blood pooling
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- excessive fatigue
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- excercise intolerance
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- heat intolerance
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- visual disturbances
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- blurry vision
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- tunnel vision
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- seeing spots
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- gray outs
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- tremulousness
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- weakness, especially in the legs
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- chest discomfort
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- shortness of breath
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- migraines or other headaches
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- mood swings
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- gastrointestinal problems
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