Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:203-206
Copyright © 1980 by American Psychiatric Association
Dizziness and falling in elderly psychiatric outpatients
MD Blumenthal and JW Davie
The authors examined 100 psychiatric patients who were 60 years old and
older for orthostatic hypotension and symptoms of dizziness and falling.
Almost 40% of the patients complained of dizziness and falling, although
only 27% had systolic orthostatic hypotension. Drug treatment, particularly
the combination of tricyclics with other orthostatic hypotension-inducing
drugs, was the most important factor accounting for the dizziness and
falling. Underlying medical illness, particularly heart disease, also
correlated significantly with the patients' symptoms.
