ASSOCIATION OF ORTHOSTATIC BP CHANGES WITH ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC VARIABLES IN ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS

Objective: Orthostatic hypertension (OHT) is an underexplored condition characterized by significant (>=20 mmHg) BP increase during standing. This condition has considerable prevalence in the elderly and was shown to be associated with increased cardiovascular and all-cause mortality,.However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not clear. Aim of this study was to investigate whether the BP behaviour on standing was associated with differences in echocardiographic variables in a cohort of elderly hypertensives Design and method: This monocentric cross-sectional study included hypertensive outpatients aged >=75 years attending hypertension clinic between May 2022 and August 2023. All participants underwent a thorough physical examination, measurement of systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in supine position and after 3 minutes of standing, multidimensional geriatric evaluation. Patients were divided according to BP response to standing: orthostatic BP decrease (OBP-) and orthostatic BP increase (OBP+). Results: The study included 62 patients, predominantly female (n=45), with a mean age of 81.2 ± 4.39 years. Using a univariate model left ventricula mass index is associated with the presence of blood pressure elevation at the standing position, also a trend in the definition of left ventricula hypertrophy is verified. The main clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of study participants are shown in the Table.Conclusions: We found a possible association between orthostatic blood pressure increases and elevated left ventricular mass in the elderly. This could suggest that structural cardiac changes contribute to the increased mortality risk associated with orthostatic hypertension. More studies are required to validate these preliminary findings.