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The clinical assessment of orthostatic hypotension

Part of: Bespoke shallow archive Weizmann

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 July 2010

Karl R Davis
Karl R Davis*
Affiliation:
University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Karl Davis, c/o C7 Office, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XW. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

Orthostatic hypotension is a common condition seen in up to one-third of community-dwelling and two-thirds of hospitalized older people. It is part of a spectrum of abnormal cardiovascular responses to postural challenge and is associated with syncope, dizziness, falls, volume depletion, drug side-effects and an increased mortality. This article discusses the current classification of orthostatic hypotension and related conditions, and the clinical importance of the control of the cardiovascular response to orthostasis. These are considered with particular reference to the measurement of postural cardiovascular responses in the routine clinical setting. By improving understanding of the methods that are used for assessment of postural changes in blood pressure, clinicians should have greater confidence in the reliability of measurement and in their interpretation.

Keywords

orthostatic hypotensionpostural hypotensionblood pressurefallselderly
Type
Clinical geriatrics section
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , August 2010 , pp. 171 - 182
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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