Heart Patient. Having Dizziness, Nausea And Bipolar Mood Swings. What Could Be The Reason?

Posted on Thu, 31 Oct 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 31 Oct 2013 Answered on

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : hi I am a chf heart patient,4 stints ,I have had 3 by passes and 2 defiberlator/ pace maker I also have syncope,and right now i am doing leg neuroapathy.i have real dizzy spells and naseaue a long withbipolar mood swings I am on Prozac 40 mg's 2x daily.

Answered by Dr. Jorge Brenes-Salazar (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Orthostatic hypotension likely Detailed Answer: Dear XXXXXXX Thanks for the query. It is not uncommon for patients with CHF to have orthostatic hypotension given the significant number of blood pressure related medications they take, and it sounds that this may be your case as well. Sometimes as heart failure progresses dose adjustments have to be made on medications; a good test for you in this regard would be an ambulatory blood pressure monitor, with which you can also record symptoms in case you have a spell, and see if it correlates with a drop in the blood pressure. There may also be a component of autonomic dysfunction, given that you tell us that additionally you are experiencing peripheral neuropathy and glucose swings. An autonomic function test, including tilt-table test may prove beneficial for diagnosis. Yours truly, Dr Brenes-Salazar MD Cardiology Mayo Clinic MN

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar