The clinical relevance of orthostatic hypotension in elderly patients

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is highly prevalent in old age. The impact of OH on orthostatic complaints and falling is questionable. We wondered if the consensus definition of OH plays an essential role in the accuracy and direction of the prediction of these endpoints. We aimed to explore the relation between different definitions of OH, including relative decrease of blood pressure, and orthostatic complaints and falling.

A cross-sectional study was performed with 1415 participants aged ≥65 years visiting a mobile fall-prevention team. The CAREFALL Triage Instrument and data on blood pressure, orthostatic complaints and previous fall incidents were collected. Multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association of different definitions of OH and orthostatic complaints or falling. Ten different definitions of OH based on different relative declines of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were defined.

The 2011 consensus definition of OH was not related to orthostatic complaints (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.07 (95 % Confidence Interval (CI) 0.68-1.69)) or previous fall incidents (OR 1.08 (95%CI 0.83-1.41)). A ≥ 25 % SBP decrease was significantly related to orthostatic complaints (OR 2.81 (95%CI 1.31-6.05)) and a ≥ 25 % DBP decrease was related to previous fall incidents (OR 2.56 (95%CI 1.08-6.09)).

With the exception of a decrease of ≥25 % SBP or DBP, the clinical relevance of incidental OH blood pressure measurements seems very limited with respect to orthostatic complaints or fall incidents in elderly patients. Using relative decreases may be more appropriate in clinical practice. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1881-1885.