Medical Dizziness
Medications are a common contributor to dizziness and ataxia (see Table 1) as elderly patients are often on multiple drugs, which place them at high risk for these side effects.
In fact, medications are the most common cause of symptomatic orthostatic hypotension as well as hypoglycemia.
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Table 1 : Drugs That Can Cause Ataxia Anticonvulsants (e.g., phenytoin, carbamazepine) Antihypertensives and drugs with hypotension as side effects Adrenergic blockers (e.g., propranolol, terazosin) Diuretics (e.g., furosemide) Vasodilators (e.g., isosorbide, nifedipine) Tricyclic antidepressants (e.g., nortriptyline) Phenothiazines (e.g., chlorpromazine) Dopamine agonists (e.g., L-dopa/carbidopa) Ototoxic drugs and vestibular suppressants some of the mycin antibiotics (e.g., gentamicin) Anticholinergics (e.g., transdermal scopolamine, promethazine, amitriptyline, meclizine) Loop diuretics (furosemide) cis-platinum Psychotropic agents Sedatives (e.g., barbiturates and benzodiazepines) Drugs with Parkinsonism as side effects (e.g., phenothiazines) Drugs with anticholinergic side effects ( e.g., amitriptyline) Miscellaneous drugs cimetidine |
