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Suggest Treatment For Night Sweats And Hot Flashes In An Elderly Person
Question: Sometimes when I bend over my heart goes crazy. I get night sweats and hot flashes. I am a male 53. I have high blood pressure but it is under control by medication.
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
Regarding your concern, I would explain that it is important performing a comprehensive differential diagnosis of different causes that may lead to this symptomatology:
- A cardiac arrhythmia. It is not typical of cardiac arrhythmia to occur when bending over, but this disorder should be the first to be ruled in/out.
- Gastro-esophageal reflux or hiatal hernia. The fact that these symptoms are exacerbated by bending over, could indicate possible gastro-esophageal reflux.
- Anxiety could also mimic this situation.
You should know that it is quite normal to have some palpitations during physical activity (including bending over) and emotional stress. They are related to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, leading to a load of chatecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline) in your blood, thus causing an increased heart rate and even ectopic heart beats.
Nevertheless, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician and performing some tests to investigate for the possible causes:
- a chest X ray study
- a resting ECG and cardiac ultrasound to examine your cardiac function and structure
- an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring to examine your heart rhythm trends during a prolonged time and exclude possible cardiac arrhythmia
- some lab blood tests (complete blood count, blood electrolytes, kidney and liver function tests, thyroid hormone levels)
- A fibrogastroscopy may be needed if suspicions of gastro-esophageal or hiatal hernia are raised.
You should discuss with your doctor on the above issues.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Feel free to ask any other questions whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
Regarding your concern, I would explain that it is important performing a comprehensive differential diagnosis of different causes that may lead to this symptomatology:
- A cardiac arrhythmia. It is not typical of cardiac arrhythmia to occur when bending over, but this disorder should be the first to be ruled in/out.
- Gastro-esophageal reflux or hiatal hernia. The fact that these symptoms are exacerbated by bending over, could indicate possible gastro-esophageal reflux.
- Anxiety could also mimic this situation.
You should know that it is quite normal to have some palpitations during physical activity (including bending over) and emotional stress. They are related to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, leading to a load of chatecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline) in your blood, thus causing an increased heart rate and even ectopic heart beats.
Nevertheless, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician and performing some tests to investigate for the possible causes:
- a chest X ray study
- a resting ECG and cardiac ultrasound to examine your cardiac function and structure
- an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring to examine your heart rhythm trends during a prolonged time and exclude possible cardiac arrhythmia
- some lab blood tests (complete blood count, blood electrolytes, kidney and liver function tests, thyroid hormone levels)
- A fibrogastroscopy may be needed if suspicions of gastro-esophageal or hiatal hernia are raised.
You should discuss with your doctor on the above issues.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Feel free to ask any other questions whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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