What the differences between both orthostatic and postprandial hypotension?
Symptomatic falls in blood pressure after standing or eating are a frequent clinical problem. Symptoms are due to cerebral hypoperfusion and include generalized weakness, sensations described as dizziness or lightheadedness, visual blurring or darkening of the visual fields and, in severe cases, loss of consciousness. Less frequently, orthostatic hypotension leads to angina or stroke. Postural hypotension: there are two major mechanisms 1) Autonomic failure (which can be caused by multiple disorders or drugs): When autonomic reflexes are impaired, blood pressure falls progressively after standing because the gravitational pooling of blood in the legs cannot be compensated by sympathetic vasoconstriction. Vasovagal syncope also causes acute postural hypotension due to a transient, paroxysmal dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. 2 Volume depletion: Patients with severe intravascular volume depletion may experience orthostatic hypotension despite normal autonomic reflexes. The eti
