Blood pressure measurement and the prevalence of postprandial hypotension.

BACKGROUND

Postprandial hypotension (PPH) is a serious condition that has been shown to be an independent risk factor for falls, fractures and death.

PURPOSE

The prevalence of this problem in older adults with a past history of falls has shown a wide variability in the literature; the present study seeks to examine how the frequency with which blood pressure is measured impacts the prevalence and severity of PPH.

METHODS

Older adults were recruited sequentially from a geriatric medicine falls clinic for meal testing (n=95). All subjects (mean age 77.5±0.7 years, 61±5% female) were fasting prior to each 90 min standardized meal test. A Finometer (Finapres Medical Systems BV) was used to monitor blood pressure. Beat-by-beat systolic (SBP) measures were averaged for 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 15, 18, 30, 45 and 90 min respectively during the meal test.

RESULTS

Using the original diagnostic method of checking mean blood pressure every 10 min resulted in a PPH prevalence of 42.1±5.1% in our population, with an overall range from 81.1±4.0% to 11.6±3.3% depending on the frequency of calculating SBP. The maximal observed postprandial decrease in SBP also showed a significant difference with blood pressure measurement frequency (p.