Orthostatic Hypotension

The autonomic nervous system makes changes in blood pressure and the heart rate to allow the body to provide adequate blood supply to the brain when the body changes position.Screening of orthostatic hypotension (OH) was performed in 285 patients aged 75 years. Current drugs, reasons for admission, geriatric syndromes, and confounding medical conditions were collected. Patients with OH (n = 116, 40%) as compared to those without OH (n = 169) more frequently (P < 0•01) presented falls in the last 6 months (62 vs. 42%, P < 0•001), a fall as the reason for the current admission (49 vs. 23%, P < 0•001), feeling of fainting (20 vs. 4%, P = 0•002), syncope (29 vs. 5%, P < 0•001) or functional decline (71 vs. 47%, P = 0•012). No difference was observed between the two groups in terms of age (85 ± 5 vs. 84 ± 4 years), gender (59 vs. 54% female), common geriatric conditions (e.g. malnutrition 46 vs. 57%, dementia 22 vs. 24%), comorbidity or confounding conditions (dehydration 28 vs. 31%, sepsis 2 vs. 7%). Indications of orthostatic hypotension incorporate dizziness, shortcoming, obscured vision, and syncope or going out.

Diagnosis is often made by history and physical examination. Injury from falling is the main complication of this entity. Various biomedical devices can be used in the recovery of the disease.