The Incidence of Orthostatic Hypotension Among Veterans

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is defined as a fall in blood pressure when standing. Several different underlying diseases, conditions, or combinations of medicines may contribute to OH; therefore the cause of the condition varies among individuals. Some studies have shown that OH is associated with an increase in the rate of death, but it is not clear what role OH plays in increased morbidity. By studying what the prevalence of OH is in a generalized veteran population we expect increase clinical awareness of the degree of the problem so that patient care might be improved.