The goal of treatment for orthostatic hypotension is to restore normal blood pressure. That usually
involves increasing blood volume, reducing the pooling of blood in your lower legs and helping blood vessels to push blood throughout your body.Treatment often addresses the underlying cause — dehydration or heart failure, for example — rather than the low blood pressure itself.For mild
orthostatic hypotension, one of the simplest treatments is to sit or lie down immediately after feeling lightheaded upon standing. Your symptoms should disappear.When low blood pressure is caused by medications, treatment usually involves changing the dose of the medication or stopping it entirely.
Orthostatic hypotension treatments include:
- Lifestyle changes. Your doctor may suggest several lifestyle changes, including drinking enough water; drinking little to no alcohol; avoiding overheating; elevating the head of your bed; avoiding crossing your legs when sitting; and standing up slowly.
- If you don’t also have high blood pressure, your doctor might suggest increasing the amount of salt in your diet. If your blood pressure drops after eating, your doctor may recommend small, low-carbohydrate meals.
- Compression stockings. Compression stockings and garments or abdominal binders may help reduce the pooling of blood in your legs and reduce the symptoms of orthostatic hypotension.
- Medications. Several medications, either used alone or together, can be used to treat orthostatic hypotension. For example, the drug fludrocortisone is often used to help increase the amount of fluid in your blood, which raises blood pressure. Midodrine raises standing blood pressure levels by limiting expansion of your blood vessels, which in turn raises blood pressure.
