Can Any One Tell ME What is involved in a tilt table test?

Answer 1

Answer

A tilt table test is used to evaluate the cause of unexplained fainting or severe lightheadedness.

During the test, your blood pressure and heart rate are monitored. You begin by lying flat on a table. Then, the table is tilted to raise the upper part of your body — simulating a change in position from lying down to standing up. This test allows doctors to evaluate your body's response to this change in angle.

When you stand up, gravity causes blood to pool in your leg veins, reducing the amount of blood that returns to your heart. This causes your blood pressure to drop (orthostatic hypotension). Normally, your autonomic nervous system accommodates this effect by narrowing (constricting) your blood vessels and increasing your heart rate. But if these mechanisms don't work as they should, the drop in blood pressure can be severe enough to cause fainting.

Some possible reasons why these adjustments may not be occurring include diseases that affect the autonomic nervous system, such as diabetic autonomic neuropathy and Shy-Drager syndrome.

Answer 2

What is a tilt table test?
Tilt table testing is designed to evaluate how your body regulates blood pressure in response to some very simple stresses. Blood pressure is regulated by a set of nerves which operate continuously and subconsciously and are part of the autonomic nervous system. This set of nerves detects certain bodily needs and they respond by causing the appropriate changes in blood pressure. The purpose of this part of the autonomic nervous system is to insure that there is always enough blood going to the brain, and to distribute blood to other organs according to their needs. For example, during exercise, blood is delivered preferentially to the muscles, whereas during eating blood is delivered preferentially to the intestines. These changes in blood pressure are accomplished by making changes in the way the heart beats and by making changes in the caliber or size of certain blood vessels.

At times, the nerves which control blood pressure may not operate properly and may cause a reaction which paradoxically causes the blood pressure to drop suddenly. This reaction may produce a fainting spell or a number of symptoms including severe lightheadedness. Tilt table testing is designed to determine the likelihood that a patient is susceptible to this type of reaction.

Who needs a tilt table test?
Patients that have symptoms suggestive of a sudden drop in blood pressure may benefit from the evaluation of blood pressure regulation with a tilt table test. The tilt table test was originally designed to evaluate patients with fainting spells because many fainting spells are caused by a drop in blood pressure. Tilt table testing may also be useful for patients who have symptoms of severe lightheadedness or dizziness which don't actually cause them to faint, but force them to sit down or lie down. These symptoms, while not progressing on to an actual fainting spell, may still be indicative of a sudden drop in blood pressure. Many patients suffering from the chronic fatigue syndrome have symptoms of lightheadedness and have been referred for tilt table testing.

What does tilt table testing involve?
The first part of a tilt table test evaluates how blood pressure responds to the simple stress of standing up, or in other words, how the blood pressure responds to the stress of gravity. Patients are asked to remove their clothing above the waist, put on a hospital gown, and lie down on a special table. Patients are connected to an electrocardiogram (ECG) type machine, have a small cuff placed around a finger which measures blood pressure, and have a small intravenous line (IV) placed into a vein in the arm. We try to make the setting as relaxing as possible by dimming the lights and by turning on some soft music in the background. After everything is set up we collect baseline blood pressure and ECG data for 10 minutes while you lie quietly on the table.