Experimental Brain Research

, Volume 217, Issue 2, pp 251–259 | Cite as

Evidence for vestibular dysfunction in orthostatic hypotension

  • Mitsuhiro Aoki
  • Yuzuru Sakaida
  • Kunihiko Tanaka
  • Keisuke Mizuta
  • Yatsuji Ito
Research Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

There is little definitive evidence of the clinical significance of the vestibular-cardiovascular reflex in humans, despite the fact that the vestibular system is known to contribute to cardiovascular control in animals. The present study involved 248 dizzy patients (127 male patients and 121 female patients) aged 65 years and younger. We classified all participants into three groups based on their vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) responses; absent VEMP, asymmetry VEMP and normal VEMP. To investigate the effect of the otolith disorder, which was estimated by the VEMP, on the orthostatic blood pressure responses, the subjects’ systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate were monitored during the orthostatic test after they actively stood up. The male patients in the absent VEMP group had a significant drop in their DBP at 1 min after active standing up (P < 0.05) without any change in their SBP. Conversely, male patients in the asymmetry VEMP and normal VEMP groups showed a significant increase in the SBP at 1 min after active standing up (P < 0.05). Female patients in the absent VEMP group did not show any significant drop in their blood pressure after standing up (P > 0.05). In the entire group of participants, a total of 19.6% of the patients in the absent VEMP group fulfilled the criteria for orthostatic hypotension (OH), which was significantly > the 8.6% of patients in the normal VEMP group and the 7.2% in the asymmetry VEMP group (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that vestibular disorders due to the dysfunction of otolith organs provoke OH.

Keywords

Graviceptor Otolith Orthostatic hypotension Dizziness Subjective visual vertical Vestibular evoked myogenic potential 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants-in-aid for scientific research from the Japan society for the promotion of science, a grant from the intractable diseases fund (vestibular disorders) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Japan and a grant-in-aid from Gifu University School of Medicine for the promotion of science.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Mitsuhiro Aoki
    • 1
  • Yuzuru Sakaida
    • 1
  • Kunihiko Tanaka
    • 2
  • Keisuke Mizuta
    • 1
  • Yatsuji Ito
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of OtolaryngologyGifu University Graduate School of MedicineGifu CityJapan
  2. 2.Department of Radiotechnology, School of Health ScienceGifu University of Medical ScienceSeki-City, GifuJapan

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