Management of orthostatic hypotension in older patients

Orthostatic hypotension is very common in older patients and increases with age, affecting one in five (20%) community-dwelling adults aged older than 60 years and 50% of patients in long-term care.1 The incidence of orthostatic hypotension can be as high as 70% in the acute geriatric ward.2 The American Autonomic Society and the American Academy of Neurology define orthostatic hypotension as a systolic blood pressure decrease of at least 20mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure decrease of at least 10mmHg within three minutes of standing up.3 One study of 230 patients with orthostatic hypotension found that >50% would have a