ORTHOSTATIC HYPOTENSION AND FRAILTY SYNDROM

The objective of our research was to define the relationship between orthostatic hypotension (OH) and frailty syndrome (FS) in the older age group. Materials and methods: the cross-sectional study involved patients of the older age group diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD - chronic cerebral ischemia, chronic phase of ischemic stroke). All patients had comorbid OH. OH was established on the basis of a classical orthostatic test [10]. Each group included patients with different functional classes of OH (FC OH), from 1 to 4 [7]. The functional class of OH was determined using the orthostatic hypotension questionnaire (assessment of OH symptoms and the OH daily activity scale) [8]. All participants were assessed for the FS index based on the Edmonton Frail Scale [9]. Results: OH and FS has a close relationship, which is reflected in the direct correlation between OH and FS index (r=0.9). The higher FC OH, the more severe FS (p=0.001). The FC OH 1 corresponds to vulnerable, FC OH 2 to mild FS, FC OH 3 to moderate FS, and FC OH 4 to severe FS. Conclusions: OH, having a close relationship with FS, may make an additional contribution to the reduction of the duration and quality of life of patients with FS and elderly patients [3, 5]. Unfortunately, currently, OH has not been included in the criteria of FS and is not evaluated in this cohort [9]. Therefore, we believe it is important to perform orthostatic testing in all patients with FS, which will prevent the occurrence of life-threatening complications caused by the persistence of OH [3, 5]. In the future, OH should be included in the criteria of FS.