Suggest Treatment For Persistent Dizziness In An Elderly Person

Posted on Thu, 20 Oct 2016

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

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 Answered on

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : My husband is 59, healthy, and plays hockey once a week plus does physical labor. Yesterday he mentioned he feels a wierd dizziness, slight. He had gall bladder surgery this year and the surgeon told me he has deep,fat in his abdomen that he should lose. He is not overweight by the scales but has a belly like a hard basketball. What do I say or encourage him to Do? He rarely if ever complains or mentions physical symptoms and I am concerned.
He is of Irish descent on both sides of his family. His uncle died young at 62 of a heart attack. His other uncle had MS. His dad died of COPD/heart event age 79. His mom is going strong at 84 years.

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
dizziness could be dehydration

Detailed Answer:
hello and thank you for your question.
Dizziness can come from many things. Probably the most common is a relative dehydration so the first thing is to make sure he is drinking enough water. He needs to cut down or eliminate drinks with alcohol or caffeine and drink mostly water.
If this does not resolve soon he needs to see a doctor and be checked for anemia and to make sure that his heart function is okay.
As far as the fat in the abdomen, it does put him at risk for heart disease. Abdominal fat is one of the risks for heart attack. The best thing you can do to help him with that is to encourage him to cut out sodas, sugars and processed foods and to cut down on carbohydrates like breads, pastas, potatoes and rice.
It is the sugars and carbohydrates not the fats that contribute to abdominal fat.
I hope he is feeling better soon,
Dr. Robinson

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

Follow up: Dr. Kathy Robinson (13 hours later)

Thank you. We both gave up alcohol 30 years ago, given the alcoholism family hand writing on the wall. He had no more dizziness today. Very strange symptom yesterday.
I think I panicked when he mentioned being dizzy because a)he has never mentioned dizziness before and b)my Dad died two months ago, age 84, first symptoms being extremely dizzy. Ambulance rushed Dad (BP crashing)to ER for his heart. They operated on the heart sac filled with fluid to relieve pressure, he had a stroke, died three days later.
I will ask my husband to get blood work and he needs to find a new doctor because his former doctor will not take insurance anymore. Changing off carbs will be a challenge.
Appreciate the help.

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (8 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I wish you the best

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your follow up.
I think finding a new doctor is a great idea. Decreasing the carbs can be a slow process. You can help him by finding things he likes to eat that have less carbs. I hope that he is fine and these symptoms turn out to be nothing serious.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson

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