Care map 5: atypical antipsychotics. Postural hypotension.

Care map 1.1 Postural hypotension is a fall in blood pressure (BP) on assuming an upright position. Absolute cutoffs for the drop in BP are often difficult to determine because different patients exhibit varying degrees of tolerance to falls in BP. Therefore, strict numerical criteria may lead to underdiagnosis and improper intervention (Frishman et al 2003). However, a drop in systolic BP of 20-30mmHg within three minutes of standing, with resulting complaints, is thought to be adequate for the diagnosis of postural hypotension (Frishman et al 2003).