The dizzy patient

PREVIEW

Depending on the physiologic mechanism at fault, dizziness can represent several overlapping sensations—all of them uncomfortable. In cases with a vestibular cause (perhaps about half the cases of dizziness), vertigo is the predominant symptom, so patients have the unsettling feeling that their environment is spinning around them or that they are moving in space. Dr Baloh discusses pertinent findings to seek on history taking (eg, do certain movements elicit dizziness? did vertigo follow a blow to the head?) that may help establish the cause. He also describes further workup, treatment, and prognosis.