Low blood pressure

[Caro2132]

So yet another first for us. Mike had a very low blood pressure episode yesterday morning and actually fainted and was out for a minute. His care giver was taking him to the shower and he was sitting in the chair so no falls or damage. I was just wondering what other people had experienced. My theory is that this is part of PSP’s little jokes because it’s related to slow messaging from the brain to the heart. But of course I’m not a doctor. The cardiologist has ordered an echocardiogram and ultra sound so we will see if there is any underlying issue. Let me know your thoughts - and thanks for this wonderful group. This site is my life saver😊

Caroline

[honjen43]

My husband had CBD but had a similar issue. We eventually found it was possibly poor messaging to the bottom of the heart where beating is regulated.

He was still mobile at the time and had numerous episodes of grey face and exhaustion on exercise. That gradually got worse and he was referred to heart specialist. He found that heart beat was very low - less than 40 beats per minute!

Took him to UK a short time later and he collapsed on me in Fowey. Managed to get help and get him back to car and we continued on! In hindsight should have made a beeline for hospital!

On returning home, I told his GP and he had a Pacemaker fitted within 6 weeks. Made a considerable difference for the rest of his active life.

The incident was never linked to CBD or brain disfunction but looking back I think it may have been!

Could be worthwhile getting Mike checked by GP and maybe referral to cardiologist.

It will depend on his current quality of life and whether it is likely to improve with a Pacemaker or similar. Same with the decision to have - or not have - a feeding tube fitted.

There is plenty of discussion on how to face such decisions here! It is a difficult one and Mike will need to voice his opinion.

Hope our experience helps you to work out the problem and how to deal with it.

Not easy!

Big hug

Jen xxx

[Babowen898]

Hi, Caroline:

My husband was diagnosed with PSP for a couple of years, then diagnosis was changed to MSA. While there are some similarities, there are differences, as well. He had the issue of bp dropping suddenly, once fainted. He uses a rollator, so now catches himself most every time this happens. When reporting the episodes to his neurologist, he was immediately referred to a cardiologist, who ordered a tilt table test. The dr did not even complete the test because his bp was steadily dropping. He went from 150/90 to 80/50 in a matter of minutes. This dr looked straight at me and said he has MSA, and is suffering from orthostatic hypotension. He now takes mididrine to keep the bp up a bit. I would definitely check with a cardiologist.

[enzo501]

inconsistent BP is a relative given w/psp....I don't think an EKG or electroencephalogram will show you much ...the key is making initial movements slower than the average .In the morning (wakeup ) sit up , then turn , then stand ...get your bearings ...after sitting for more than an hr ...do the getting up slow with deep breaths .The caregiver needs to be there when the patient stands up ...just in case ! Its a lot less inconvenient to help that person up then to spend 4-6 hrs at the E-room getting a wrist or shoulder set . Good luck ! jeff

[rriddle]

Carol,

Low BP, causing syncope, isn't really a part of PSP. MSA or LBD, yes. Also, orthostatic hypotension can happen as we age. But there were no postural changes so I'm not sure this could be attributed to BP. Could be a seizure. Good thing to speak with the MD about this.

Robin