POSTURAL HYPOTENSION AND DIURETIC THERAPY IN ELDERLY

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 119  (6) , 581-585
Abstract
Blood pressures were recorded in 319 ambulatory subjects, largely men, aged 50-99 yr. The mean systolic pressures were maximal in the 7th and 8th decades (136.0 and 132.1 mm Hg with the subjects supine and erect, respectively), and the mean diastolic pressures fell progressively after age 69. The distribution of postural changes in mean blood pressure was similar in each decade; a decrease of 20 mm Hg or more was noted in 3.4% of the subjects aged 80-99 yr and in 4.1% of those aged 50-79 yr. The frequency of postural hypotension was 4.6% in subjects treated with diuretics and 3.4% in those not so treated. Blood pressures and the frequency of postural hypotension did not progressively increase with age in this elderly population.