title: Assessment of postural hypotension in elderly patients.
abstract: Change in blood pressure on standing was measured in 23 geriatric inpatients during the morning. The fall in systolic blood pressure was found to be greatest 30 s after standing, at 9.3 +/- 3.3 (SEM) mmHg and had returned to the supine levels within 2 min. In contrast, the diastolic pressure rose to a maximum of 9.7 +/- 1.8 mmHg by 2 min. In 13 patients the measurements were repeated in the afternoon after lunch. The systolic blood pressure drop was significantly greater: 20.8 +/- 3.6 against 7.1 +/- 2.0 mmHg in the morning (p = 0.01). Standardization of the time after standing and time of day of measurement may allow more precise comparisons of different studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Macrae
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Bulpitt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007024:Hypotension, Orthostatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors