Evaluation of the balance regulation in patients with arterial hypertension

Waldemar Kosiba
Email src
Justyna Drzał-Grabiec
ID
Email src
Sławomir Snela
ID
I Oddział Wewnętrzny, Szpital im. S. Żeromskiego, Kraków, Polska
Institute of Physiotherapy, Medical Faculty, University of Rzeszow, Rzeszów, Poland
Institute of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, Rzeszow, Poland

Abstract

The aim of this study is the evaluation of the balance regulation in patients with arterial hypertension in comparison with people without hypertension and comorbidity.

Material and method: The subjects were patients with hypertension but without comorbidity that could affect the balance system. The control group consisted of people without a medical history who are not taking any medications. The study was conducted on the stabilometric platform. 50 people were the subjects of the study. There were 22 men (44%) and 28 women (56%) among the subjects. An average age of the subjects was 57±4 years. The youngest of the subjects was 50 and the oldest 66 year old. The median of the age was 57, similarly to an average age.

Results: Statistically significant relationships between the people with diagnosed arterial hypertension and blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg and the control group, and between people with diagnosed arterial hypertension and blood pressure above 140/90mmHg and the control group were noted. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups of subjects with hypertension. The group of subjects with properly controlled blood pressure was not significantly different from the control group in the case of 16 balance parameters, while the group with improperly controlled blood pressure was not significantly different from the control group only in the case of 6 parameters.

Conclusions: Hypertension, especially improperly controlled, which values exceed 140/90mmHg may interfere with the balance system, which often is not felt by the patients, and which can be ascertained based on the study on the stabilometric platform. As a result, these individuals may be more frequently exposed to complications of balance disorders in the form of dizziness and falls. Detection of improperly controlled hypertension should - besides appropriate pharmacological treatment - in some persons be assisted with therapy program of falls prevention and rehabilitation. People with precise control of blood pressure benefit not only in terms of reduced cardiovascular risk but also in maintaining the correct balance parameters.

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited