Orthostatic Hypotension in the Elderly

ORTHOSTATIC hypotension is often observed in elderly people and may result in substantial morbidity and mortality from associated falls and syncope. Studies of elderly people living in the community have found a prevalence of orthostatic hypotension as high as 20 percent among medical outpatients over 65 years of age1 , 2 and 30 percent among those over 75.1 However, recent epidemiologic studies of healthy, normotensive elderly subjects without known risk factors for orthostatic hypotension have found a prevalence of less than 7 percent.3 , 4 Data on blood pressure measured in the supine and sitting positions in over 8000 participants in the National Health . . .