Margaret Grant, MD,
Geriatric Medicine Resident, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
Definition and Prevalence
In response to the confusion surrounding the existence of multiple definitions of orthostatic hypertension (OH), a consensus statement was developed to standardize the meaning of this medical condition. OH is defined as a reduction of systolic blood pressure (BP) of at least 20 mm Hg, or a reduction of diastolic BP of at least 10 mm Hg within 3 minutes of standing or lying on a tilt table at an angle of at least 60 degrees.1 The prevalence of OH in the elderly ranges from 5 to 33 %.2-4 This variability may be the result of different definitions used and the range of populations considered, from frail older nursing home patients to healthy older people living in the community. The prevalence of OH can be as high as 50% in frail older nursing home patients.2
In a study by Ooi et al., which looked at nursing home patients' BP taken at 8 different times, OH was found to be variable depending on the time of day, with a higher prevalence just before breakfast.
