No problem when squatting, but feeling dizzy, seeing black spots, and experiencing rapid heartbeat when standing up—what's the reason?
Disease description:
I feel fine when I squat down, but every time I stand up, I experience dizziness, blurred vision, dimming of vision, and an increased heart rate. I would like to know what is causing this?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Lv Zhiqin
There are no symptoms when squatting, but dizziness, visual darkening, and increased heart rate may occur upon standing. These symptoms could be caused by the following reasons:
1. Orthostatic hypotension: After prolonged squatting, blood mainly accumulates in the lower limbs. When standing up suddenly, due to the effect of gravity, blood fails to rapidly return to the brain, resulting in temporary cerebral ischemia and causing symptoms such as dizziness, visual darkening, and increased heart rate. These symptoms usually improve when rising slowly or pausing momentarily after standing.
2. Physiological factors: When squatting for an extended period, the body remains in a relatively stable state. Upon standing, because of the sudden positional change, blood needs to be redistributed to adapt to the new posture. During this process, temporary insufficient blood supply might occur, leading to the aforementioned symptoms.
3. Disease-related factors: Conditions such as hypotension, hypoglycemia, and anemia may exacerbate symptoms during postural changes. For example, patients with hypotension have weaker blood pressure regulation ability and are more prone to develop cerebral hypoperfusion upon standing; hypoglycemic patients may experience symptoms like dizziness and palpitations due to decreased blood glucose levels.
4. Other factors: Prolonged fasting, excessive fatigue, and mental stress may also affect normal physiological functions and lead to the occurrence of these symptoms.
If the above measures fail to relieve the symptoms, or if the symptoms worsen, prompt medical attention is recommended.
