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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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