Antihypertensive Drugs for the Elderly: Too Much of a Good Thing

Many elderly patients suffer dizziness, light-headedness, balancing difficulties, a tendency to fall when getting up too quickly, and mild mental confusion. Ask such patients if they are taking an antihypertensive drug. This may be the problem, and it can be confirmed by stopping or lowering the dose. In some older people, the sclerotic cerebral arteries require a little higher blood pressure to furnish enough blood to the brain.