What Causes Dizziness In The Elderly?

Posted on Thu, 17 Apr 2014

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

Thu, 17 Apr 2014 Answered on

Tue, 6 May 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I am 79 and have suffered from dizziness for 14 years. my md treats mewith 1mg lorazepam and says it is anxiety related. I am also on thyroid but it is checked on a regular basis. my blood pressure is low 90 over 50 and my daughter says I do not drink enough water,can you offer me any advise?

Answered by Dr. Abhishek Kapoor (-4 hours later)

Brief Answer: Try antidepressant like amitriptyline Detailed Answer: HI Thanks for using healthcare magic. I, Dr Abhishek Kapoor, would help you in this query. Dizziness is common in elderly people. 30% of people older than 65 years experience dizziness in some form and it increase up to 50% in the very old (older than 85 years). Cardiovascular disease is considered to be the most common major contributory cause of dizziness (57%), followed by peripheral vestibular disease (14%), and psychiatric illness (10%). An adverse drug effect is considered to be the most common minor contributory cause of dizziness (23%). In your case, you have dizziness for last 14 years. Your thyroid profile and cardiovascular function is normal, in that case, try to rule out any underline problem in peripheral vestibular system i.e. ear or eye. If you have already got it properly investigated, then chances of psychological dizziness is more. In that case, i would suggest you to try some antidepressant like amitriptyline or imipramine at low dose with lorazepam. These drugs have anti-histaminic effect and it would help to control anxiety with dizziness. With these drugs, you can also decrease dose of lorazepam. Better to discuss all this with your physician. In case, you need further help, you can ask. Regards Dr. Abhishek Kapoor Psychiatrist

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