Are blood pressure drops an early sign of Parkinson’s disease?

[Beth T Browne]

I did experience a sudden drop in my blood pressure, twice, before I was diagnoised.  It was mid-morn, and I had had breakfast both times, and was standing at my Ipad when I knew I was going to faint.  I immediately laid down.  It took me about 20-25 minutes, to feel good again.

I did not know anything about PD, except the shaking part.  As I have a leaky heart valve, I thought that was what it was and immediately sent a note to my doctor.  When it happened again, five days later, he wanted me to come in for my second electrocardiograph.  It came out better then my first, so he did not know what I had those sudden drops.  He never mentioned I might possible have PD.  So, I had know idea why that happened, at that time.

Now that I know, it is a bit scary  that I might be somewhere, like grocery shopping, and it could happen.  My hand shaking has been my big problem, but I now know I lack Dopamine.

 

 

[Jo S.]

I didn’t have sudden BP drops prior to being diagnosed. However, since then, I’ve had them and have passed out three times (which is pretty scary).

[Ally]

Thank you for sharing your experience, Beth. It would be very scary to experience a blood pressure drop and fall down in a public place, or pass out while driving or doing something else dangerous. I wonder if anyone is working on technology to help alert people when their blood pressure starts to drop so they can move to safety or call for help?

[Barbara Ernest]

I have systolic hypertension, after taking my PD meds in the morning I occasionally experience such a severe drop in blood pressure I cannot keep awake and need to lie down. It takes time for my blood pressure to return to “normal”. The drop in BP makes it difficult to walk and maintain balance which is a problem anyway. I have PD since the mid 90’s (now age 77.  Hallucinations (visual and auditory)  are another issue to contend with. Wondering if other PD patients experience such dramatic swings in BP.

[Alan Berry]

I have experienced significant drops in blood pressure for some time. Every day when I take a standing blood pressure after my sitting blood pressure. Neither my family doctor nor the cardiologist have ever referred to Parkinson’s. Instead they suspect the change results from a heart irregularity following a report from the Pacemaker Clinic at Joseph Brant Hospital, Burlington.The investigation seems very slow to me and, last week, I urged my family doctor to pressure the cardiologist to speed up whatever actions he is following.Alan Berry