Central nervous system symptoms of elderly subjects using antihypertensive drugs.

The effects of antihypertensive agents on the frequencies of reported fainting, dizziness, losses of consciousness, and bone fractures were studied in a large, ambulatory elderly population. The frequencies of these symptoms were compared for subjects who used one or more of nine different antihypertensive agents and for subjects who were not using these medications and who served as a control group. Over 40 per cent of the total population were using at least one of the nine drug groups. Women who used antihypertensive medications reported significantly more fainting (P less than 0.001), dizziness (P less than 0.005) and "blacking-out spells" (P less than 0.002) but significantly fewer bone fractures (P less than 0.02) compared with women who were not using such medication in the control group. For men, the use of only one drug group, propranolol, was associated with a significant increase in fainting and dizziness but not blacking-out spells compared with men in the control. These results suggest that elderly persons may be subject to a variety of central nervous system side effects induced by antihypertensive drugs.