Dr. Rehan Badar

Vertigo is a medical condition where the affected person feels that the world or surrounding environment is spinning or moving. It is accompanied with nausea, vomiting, sweating and having problems in walking steadily. Moving your head worsens this condition. An illusion of movement is observed.

Vertigo arises from several conditions. There are mainly two types of Vertigo:

Peripheral Vertigo: This is the most common vertigo and is caused often due to a problem in the balance mechanism of the inner ear. The causes include:

• Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: Being one of the common causes of vertigo, BPPV occurs due to certain head movements when standing up or bending over. The attacks are short, powerful and recurrent in nature. Nausea is also accompanied. A feeling of lightheadedness and despaired balance is observed after the attack. Fragments of calcium carbonate crystals are broken off from the channel linings present in the inner ear. These fragments cause the problem by getting into the ear fluid canals, and certain  head movement sweeps them across the canal causing vertigo.
• Head Injury: Vertigo develops due to head injuries, and the symptoms are similar to that of dizziness.
• Labyrinthitis: It is an infection in the inner ear, which causes the labyrinth of the ear to get inflamed. The labyrinth controls our hearing and balance. An inflammation causes it to send different information than the other, normal ear. This conflict causes vertigo. Such vertigo can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, loss of hearing and ear pain.
• Vestibular Neuronitis: This is a condition pertaining to the inner ear, which causes inflammation of the nerve which connects the labyrinth to the brain.  The condition arises from viral infections. Nausea and vomiting are observed, and this condition leads to vertigo.
• Meniere's Disease: This rare condition in the inner ear causes severe vertigo along with hearing loss and aural fullness. Meniere's disease prompts sudden vertigo attacks with nausea and vomiting.

Central Vertigo: Central vertigo arises from problems in the cerebellum of the brain and brainstem. Causes include:

• Migraines
• Sclerosis, a condition which affects the central nervous system
• Acoustic neuroma, a type of brain cancer growing on the acoustic nerve
• Brain tumors, stroke or transient ischemic attack
• Certain medications

Treatment:
Treatment of vertigo depends on the cause and on the extent of symptoms. Labyrinthis and vestibular neuronitis are cured by vestibular rehabilitation and medication. BBVV is treated using a process called the Epley maneuver. Meniere's disease is cured by modes of dietary restriction, medication, treating tinnitus and treating hearing loss. Generally, curing the cause of vertigo helps in healing the disorder.

Vertigo is caused by different reasons and factors and rectification of these factors helps in the treatment of vertigo.

Lipid profiling since 20 can prevent heart ailments: doctors
 Lipid profiling -- blood tests that screen for abnormalities in lipids, such as cholesterol and triglycerides from the age of 20 years can help detect heart ailments at an early stage.

Image for representational purpose only
 Lipid profiling -- blood tests that screen for abnormalities in lipids, such as cholesterol and triglycerides from the age of 20 years can help detect heart ailments at an early stage, revealed doctors on thursday.

According to them, a person may be at high risk of heart attack if the levels of high-density lipoproteins (hdl), low-density lipoprotein (ldl) and triglycerides -- causes of heart ailments -- are high.

These should be screened early, especially if the person is a smoker, obese, has blood sugar level on the higher side or there is a family history of heart ailments.

This blood test (lipid profiling) indicates results of the levels of hdl, ldl and triglycerides. An annual frequency of the test is recommended for people with diabetes or heart issues.

Triglycerides, a type of fat, if seen at elevated level, has a strong association with metabolic syndrome which has a tendency to increase the risk for heart diseases, diabetes and stroke. 

According to the world health organization, cardiovascular diseases would be the largest cause of death and disability in india by 2020. By 2030, it is expected that 23 million people will die from cardiovascular diseases annually.

Medical science says that lipid profile also helps in diagnosis and making decisions about what treatment would be best if there is borderline or high risk, if found positive for heart ailments. Monitoring and maintaining healthy levels of these lipids is important in staying healthy.

Chabbra urged people to maintain the body mass index (bmi) within the normal range (19 to 25), as it could determine the risk for developing obesity, another cause for heart ailments.

According to the world heart federation, at least 80 per cent of premature deaths from heart diseases and stroke could be avoided if the main risk factors  tobacco, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity are controlled.