Riding on roller coasters or in boats, cars, or even airplanes may make you dizzy. Sometimes dizziness has a medical explanation.

Most causes of dizziness are harmless. However, dizziness can also be the only symptom of a serious condition such as a heart attack or stroke.

Possible causes include:

• Medications.
• Fainting.
• Drop in blood pressure, which can occur after sitting up or standing too quickly.
• Heart disease. Heart attack, irregular heart beat, or a heart rate that is too fast or too slow can cause dizziness.
• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. This condition causes intense vertigo immediately following a change in head position, often when you turn over in bed or sit up.
• Other causes. Stroke, tumor, headaches, Meniere’s disease, migraines, anxiety, and hyperventilation can also cause dizziness.

Symptoms
Dizziness can make you feel faint, weak, nauseated, confused, tired, clumsy, or off balance. You may also feel like you or the room is spinning or moving.

Seek Medical Care
Call a doctor if you have severe dizziness that comes on quickly or dizziness after taking a newly prescribed medication.

Call 911 if you feel dizzy along with any of the following:

• Head injury
• Fever higher than 101º F
• Blurred vision
• Sudden hearing loss
• Speech impairment
• Leg or arm weakness
• Loss of consciousness
• Chest pain

Treatment
The treatment for dizziness depends on its cause. If heart attack or stroke seems likely, emergency treatment will be started.

Self-Care
If it’s clear your dizziness is not the symptom of a serious condition, you can take the following self-care steps:

• Get plenty to drink, have regular meals, and get plenty of rest.
• Stand up slowly.

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