Often feel light-headed and woozy when you get out of your seat? Beware, you may have a higher risk of developing heart failure, scientists say.

According to researchers, dizzy spells experienced after standing up suddenly are caused by a rapid drop in blood pressure known as orthostatic hypotension.


Now a team at the University of North Carolina found that people who experienced the condition frequently were about 54% more likely to develop heart failure than those who didn`t , the Daily Mail reported. The risk still stood at 34% when researchers took account of those who also suffered from high blood pressure. And it was most pronounced in those aged between 44 and 55 years.

To reach their results, published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension , the team measured the blood pressure of 12,000 patients when they were lying down and shortly after they stood up.

About 11% of patients who developed heart failure had at the start of the study compared to only 4% of those who did not develop heart failure.