• The Korean Nurse
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.38-41
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• 1995

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.200-209
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• 2003

Purpose: This study was to identify the prevalence of orthostatic hypotension and its association with risk factors of orthostatic hypotension aged over 60 in Seoul and Chungju, Korea. Method: The data were collected from the 22th of August, 2000 to the 7th May 2001. The participants were 74 community-dwelling aged who could stand up from sitting position without assistance. Subjects were interviewed with structured questionnaire in order to ask experience of previous falls, hours in per day, symptoms related orthostatic hypotension and demographic characteristics. Orthostatic hypotension was assessed at 1 minute after the subjects standing from sitting position and defined as 20mmHg or greater decrease in systolic blood pressure after standing. Result: The prevalence of orthostatic hypotension was 17.1%. The mean drop of systolic blood pressure was 27.46mmHg among orthostatic hypotension subjects. The significant variables which explain the occurrence of orthostatic hypotension was the basal systolic blood pressure, the hit ratio of discriminant function with basal systolic blood pressure was 69.7%. Conclusion: Finding indicate that this study will contribute to develop nursing strategies to identify risk factors and to prevent orthostatic hypotension for the aged.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 1995

During sleep, relatively major respiratory physiological changes occur in healthy subjects. The contributions and interactions of voluntary and metabolic breathing control systems during waking and sleep are quite different Alterations of ventilatory control occur in chemosensitivity, response to mechanical loads, and stability of ventilation. The activities of intercostal muscles and muscles involved in regulating upper airway size are decreased during sleep. These respiratory physiological changes during sleep compromise the nocturnal ventilatory function, and sleep is an important physiological cause of the nocturnal alveolar hypoventilation. There are several causes of chronic alveolar hypoventilation including cardiopulmonary, neuromuscular diseases. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is an important cause of nocturnal hypoventilation and hypoxia. Coexistent cardiopulmonary or neuromuscular disease in patients with OSAS contributes to the development of diurnal alveolar hypoventilation, diurnal hypoxia and hypercapnia. The existing data indicates that nocturnal recurrent hypoxia and fragmentation of sleep in patients with OSAS contributes to the development of systemic hypertension and cardiac bradytachyarrhythmia, and diurnal pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale in patients with OSAS is usually present in patients with coexisting cardiac or pulmonary disease. Recent studies reported that untreated patients with OSAS had high long-term mortality rates, cardiovascular complications of OSAS had a major effect on mortality, and effective management of OSAS significantly decreased mortality.