Orthostatic Hypotension and Therapy with an Ace Inhibitor in Hypertensive Patients

Abstract Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is defined as a drop in the systolic blood pressure greater than 20 mmHg and that of the diastolic blood pressure greater than 10 mmHg within 3 minutes from the change of the body’s position from lying or sitting down to standing up. The objective of this study is to analyse the incidence and severity of orthostatic hypertension when taking one of the generic representatives of the ACE inhibitor group (trandolapril) as a monotherapy in patients with essential hypertension. Th e study involved 314 patients (medium age of 54±4 years; 52.5% men) with poorly regulated hypertension for whom trandolapril was introduced as monotherapy. Th e incidence rates of patients with and without orthostatic hypotension between the first and second examination were not statistically significantly different. At the second control examination, 7 patients (2,3%) still had orthostatic hypotension, as was the case at the first examination. Between the third and fourth controls, a statistically significant decrease in the number of patients with orthostatic hypotension was recorded. No statistically significant difference in the incidence of orthostatic hypotension between patients with normal body mass and those who were overweight was observed. Our study has shown that certain ACE inhibitors, such as Trandolapril, do not have a pronounced adverse effect with regard to orthostatic hypotension and that in long-term application, they can have a positive role in the prevention of hypotensive episodes and improving patient compliance.