Orthostatic hypotension in patients of 60 years and older with arterial hypertension: an association between arterial stiffness and frailty

Aim: To assess an association between orthostatic hypotension and arterial stiffness, measured by the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), in a group of patients≥60 years of age with arterial hypertension and frailty. Materials and methods: The study included 160 patients aged 60 to 101 years with confirmed arterial hypertension without severe concomitant physical disorders. Compliance to the previously prescribed medications was assessed. A short questionnaire, "Age is not a hindrance," was used to identify patients with frailty. According to the current diagnostic algorithm for frailty, the patients were categorized into three groups: group 1, frail, group 2, pre-frail, group 3, healthy. Arterial stiffness was assessed by volumetric sphygmometry (VaSera-VS-1500, Fukuda Denshi, Japan) with the measurement of CAVI. The orthostatic test was considered positive if blood pressure falls by≥20/10 mm Hg after changing from supine to standing position. Results: The mean age of the study patients was 77.2±8.1 years (n=160), being 72.4±6.9 years in the healthy patients (n=50), 76.6±8.1 years in the pre-frail (n=50) and 81.7±6.6 years in the frail patients (n=60). Orthostatic hypotension was identified in total of 53 (33%) patients, with marginally significant difference between the pre-frail and healthy groups (44 and 20% of the patients, respectively, p=0.053). The CAVI values were higher in frail patients, compared to healthy ones (p=0.0005). Orthostatic hypotension was associated with a higher CAVI, irrespective of the patients’ age and frailty (р=0.0067). The association between orthostatic hypotension and CAVI in frail patients was found only with unifactor analysis, but became non-significant with the additional analysis. Conclusion: Orthostatic hypotension can be found in 33% of the elderly patients with arterial hypertension. Arterial stiffness increases with increasing frailty, as well as with concomitant orthostatic hypotension in the group of the patients≥60 years of age. The progression of arterial stiffness in the elderly group is heterogeneous and depends on the presence of frailty.