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Diseases & Conditions
Do you fall down when you stand up?
- By Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
A variety of approaches can help keep you upright when blood pressure takes a sudden dip.
Blood pressure that drops when you stand — what doctors call orthostatic hypotension — affects nearly one in three older adults. It’s also a common cause of falls, according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association, published online May 19, 2022, by Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
"There are serious consequences to orthostatic hypotension. People can fall and fracture their hips and other bones. Some people can’t even get out of bed without feeling dizzy or lightheaded and fainting. It can be incapacitating," says Dr. Roy Freeman, a neurologist who specializes in treating orthostatic hypotension at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
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About the Author
Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
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No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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An alarming one in three American adults has high blood pressure. Known medically as hypertension, many people don't even know they have it, because high blood pressure has no symptoms or warning signs. But when elevated blood pressure is accompanied by abnormal cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the damage to your arteries, kidneys, and heart accelerates exponentially. Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to detect and treat. In the Special Health Report, Controlling Your Blood Pressure, find out how to keep blood pressure in a healthy range simply by making lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, increasing activity, and eating more healthfully.
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