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Orthostatic Hypotension Essay

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Orthostatic hypotension is a relatively common ailment experienced by the elderly population, but can also occur in young and healthy people. Orthostatic hypotension occurs when a person changes positions, usually from a sitting or supine position to a standing position, and experiences a sudden drop in blood pressure. This condition is already seen in older adults quite often, but is seen even more frequently in patients with dementia. Many psychotropic drugs that are used to treat dementia include orthostasis as a key side effect. This disease can cause a multitude of problems for geriatric patients including dizziness, falling, and fainting. This article depicts a project that was conducted to help educate the healthcare team working with dementia patients on orthostatic hypotension in hopes that nursing interventions would be able to reduce and/or prevent the symptoms experienced during orthostatic hypotension. Before the study project was conducted, inconsistencies relating to the treatment and diagnosis of orthostatic hypotension were found. Blood pressure measurements were often inaccurate and cuffs were not placed or sized correctly. Those mistakes were putting the breaks on possible treatment or prevention of orthostatic hypotension. The cause of the mistakes were mostly due to the tasks being delegated to unlicensed …show more content…
When their findings were unsatisfactory, they presented the healthcare teams with an opportunity to learn new ways that could help treat, care for, and/or prevent orthostatic hypotension in their patients. The project consisted of various learning activities, tables, discussions, and hands-on demonstrations to help properly instruct and educate the healthcare staff members on how to improve their care for the patients on their

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