Senior Citizens: Beware of 'Nocturia'

Hyderabad: Many are not aware of the fact that not drinking water before going to bed or after urination at night is an important cause of frequent early morning heart attacks or strokes in elderly people, say medical experts. Frequent urination at night is called 'Nocturia' and is actually a symptom of blockage in the blood flow to the heart and brain. Elderly people suffer the most because they shy away from drinking water before going to bed at night fearing that their sleep might be disturbed as they might have to get up to urinate.

The fact however is that, Nocturia is not a problem of bladder dysfunction but is a symptom of heart problem, doctors say, adding that this is due to the decreased heart function in the elderly and as they age the heart is no longer able to suck blood from the lower part of the body.

In such a situation, during the day when we are standing, the flow of blood is mostly downwards and if the heart is weak, the amount of blood in the heart becomes insufficient and the pressure on the lower part of the body increases. That is why elderly people witness swelling in the lower part of their body during day time and when they lie down at night, their body's lower part gets relieved of the pressure and a lot of water gets stored in the tissues. This water comes back into the blood.

It usually takes about three to four hours between the time when we lie down to sleep and the first time we to go to urinate. After urinating two or three times, there is very little water in the blood and making it thicker and stickier and the heart rate slows down during sleep. Due to this thick blood and slower flow of blood, the narrowed blood vessel gets blocked easily and as a result adults get heart attack or paralysis in the morning.

To overcome this situation, elderly people should drink lukewarm water before going to bed at night and again after urination."Do not be afraid of Nocturia. Drink plenty of water because not drinking water can kill adults and exercise often to increase the heart's efficiency", doctors added.