P007 HIGH PREVALENCE OF HYPOTENSION IN OLDER ADULTS ON AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING (ABPM)

Background: Hypertension, a prevalent public health concern, disproportionately affects older adults. Effective blood pressure (BP) control is crucial to preventing cardiovascular complications such as heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. In recent years, there has been a discussion about the optimal BP control strategies in older adults (1). While some studies advocate for intensive BP control, others emphasize the importance of considering individual patient characteristics, such as age and frailty (2,3). Objective: This study aims to describe the prevalence of hypotension in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in older adult patients compared to younger patients. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study analyzed ABPM records from 2018 to 2024 at a cardiovascular institution in Colombia. The difference in systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure was evaluated according to the age group (younger or older than 80 years) to determine the presence of hypotension in older adults defined as pressure less than 90/60 mmHg. Normality was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Comparisons of continuous variables across age categories were performed using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. For categorical variables, the Chi-square test was employed. Results: Among the 653 participants, 57.3% (374) were women. The average age was 63 years, with 60 patients (9.18%) being over 80 years old. Table 1 shows a significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) between the age groups. Notably, 47.5% of patients over 80 had SBP less than 130 mmHg, and a high prevalence (84.7%) had DBP less than 90 mmHg. DBP below 60 mmHg was more common in this age group. Additionally, 20 older adults had SBP between 130-139 mmHg. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a high prevalence of hypotension, especially low DBP, in older adults. Considering these findings, re-evaluating current blood pressure control targets for older adults is crucial to avoid overtreatment and minimize the risk of complications like symptomatic hypotension and falls.