Why does everything spin when people walk?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 25 year old male, who weighs 245 lbs and 6 feet tall. I work at a prison, which is a state job. A month ago, I looked up casually after walking away from some of my coworkers to some other ones and everything was spinning, and I could not walk straight. They had to walk me down to the clinic and my blood pressure was 178/112 mmHg. High blood pressure runs on my dad's side of the family, my dad has it, some of his uncles have had it. Some of his uncles have even had heart attacks and other heart problems. I am also in the national guard, so though I may be obese to a scale, I am very active, especially, whenever I am at work. I work on the yard controlling inmate movement. Naturally, they had me do a stress test this past week. My doctor referred me to a cardiologist, whose assistant told me to redo my tests. What are the chances of them finding something? Also, I do not drink daily, but I have had moments of blacking out because of the amount.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Likelihood of finding anything on stress test is less. I think all your problems is due to high blood pressure. So, the priority is to control your blood pressure and weight. I suggest you lose some weight.

You being a young hypertensive patient, you will first need evaluation for the cause of high blood pressure. I suggest you undergo the following tests:

Kidney function test.
Renal artery doppler.
Serum cortisol.
24-hour urinary metanephrines.
Lipid profile.
Blood sugar levels.

I also suggest you try doing the following:

You should have a healthy lifestyle like avoiding fatty, oily, and high-calorie diet.
Have a low-salt diet and monitor blood pressure regularly, thrice a day for one week then once or twice a week.
Regular exercises like brisk walking and jogging, according to your capacity for at least 30 minutes a day and five days a week.
Consume a lot of green leafy vegetables, fruits, fish once or twice a week, and avoid meat.
Avoid smoking and alcohol, if any.
There should not be abdominal fat deposition or obesity.

If your BP is persistently more than 140/90 mmHg, then your medicines need to be hiked.

Hope this helps you and get back if you have any doubts.

For more information consult an internal medicine physician online.