title: Acute sympathotonic orthostatic hypotension with recovery.
abstract: We describe a 30 year-old female who presented with severe orthostatic hypotension despite appropriate compensatory tachycardia on standing, following a viral infection. Clinical assessment and laboratory evaluation failed to detect other causes of her illness besides sympathotonic orthostatic hypotension. She responded to fludrocortisone and recovered completely after 3 months. We postulate that her acute reversible illness was due to a post-viral immunological response selectively affecting the alpha adrenergic receptors subserving the post-ganglionic sympathetic vasomotor fibres.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Tjia
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007024:Hypotension, Orthostatic / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged