Orthostatic hypotension: a common, serious and underrecognized problem in hospitalized patients

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is strongly age-dependent, with a prevalence ranging from 5% to 11% in middle age to 30% or higher in the elderly. It is also closely associated with other common chronic diseases, including hypertension, congestive heart failure, diabetes mellitus, and Parkinson’s disease. Most studies of OH have been performed in population cohorts or elderly residents of extended care facilities, but in this review, we draw attention to a problem little studied to date: OH in hospitalized patients. The prevalence of OH in all hospitalized patients is not known because most studies have included only older individuals with multiple comorbid diseases, but in some settings as many as 60% of hospitalized adults have postural hypotension. Hospitalized patients are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of OH, particularly falls, because postural blood pressure (BP) regulation may be disturbed by many common acute illnesses as well as by bed rest and drug treatment. The temporal course of OH in hospitalized patients is uncertain, both because the reproducibility of OH is poor and because conditions affecting postural BP regulation may vary during hospitalization. Finally, OH during hospitalization often persists after discharge, where, in addition to creating an ongoing risk of falls and syncope, it is strongly associated with risk of incident cardiovascular complications, including myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and all-cause mortality. Because OH is a common, easily diagnosable, remediable condition with important clinical implications, we encourage caregivers to monitor postural BP change in patients throughout hospitalization.