Vital signs
Postural BP Drop
For education. Check every result.
Anatium is a study resource, not medical advice. Nothing here is a diagnosis, a prescription or a substitute for a clinician who has seen the patient. Check every number against a current local protocol before it touches anyone, and never act on a result you cannot reproduce yourself.
Reference range
| Range | 0 to 20 mmHg |
About
The fall in blood pressure on standing. Cheap, quick, and the most direct bedside evidence of volume depletion or autonomic failure.
When it is low
No significant postural drop
When it is high
A fall of 20 systolic or 10 diastolic within 3 minutes of standing defines orthostatic hypotension: hypovolaemia, autonomic failure, or drugs - alpha blockers, nitrates, diuretics, antihypertensives and tricyclics
How it is measured
Measure lying, then after standing 1 and 3 minutes. It is a leading and reversible cause of falls in older people, and the drug chart is the first place to look.
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