I experience brief spells of dizziness and semi blankness when I stand up abruptly. Sometimes I may feel light headaches and experience a minor blackout. What could be wrong with me? 

Logan

Dear Logan,

What is your age? How long have you been experiencing these bouts of dizziness or minor black out? Is there any associated problem in the eyes or ears? The clue to your problem lies in the answers to these questions.

Dizziness occurs when the blood supply to the brain is reduced momentarily. This can occur due to problems of the heart like abnormalities of the valves, blockade of coronary arteries(ones supplying blood to the heart).

Dizziness can occur due to reduced return of blood to the heart as with varicose veins in legs. Some people get dizzy when standing for long , due to reduced blood supply to the heart.

Fall in blood pressure while standing abruptly makes a person dizzy. This can be due to varicose veins , drugs used for treating hypertension. Chronic long standing anemia also causes dizziness.

Any abnormality like infection or trauma to the ears can cause a spinning sensation, which is perceived as dizziness. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sounds in the ear, one or more of these symptoms. Elderly people can feel dizzy due to temporary cutting off blood supply to the brain due to new bone formation in neck(spondylosis) or stiffening of blood vessels of brain. Visual problems can also cause black out sensation because eye is part of the balancing system of the body. Damage to the cerebellum (part of brain responsible for balance of body) or to the nerve responsible for balance manifests as dizziness. This kind of damage can be due to trauma, infections, tumors or even alcohol and or tobacco.

Diagnosis of cause of black out can be made clinically along with necessary investigations. Treatment of underlying cause, if treatable helps cure it. Postural adjustment is also useful. Avoid standing up abruptly, get up slowly from sitting to standing position. When you feel dizzy, try to stay in that position for a moment. The body’s balancing system will gradually get adapted to the new position.