Achieving haemodynamic baseline values with Finapres in elderly subjects during supine rest

Background: Clear guidelines for the resting time necessary to achieve stab le blood pressure (BP) levels are scant in gerontology research. Therefore, we aimed to determine the minimum period required for obtaining haemodynam ic baseline values in elderly subjects during supine rest. In addition, we evaluated the effect of cardiovascular morbidity, such as diastolic heart f ailure, and the effect of complex comorbidity of geriatric patients, on hae modynamic changes during supine rest. Methods: A total of 17 healthy subjec ts, 18 heart failure patients with normal systolic function and 24 geriatri c patients, aged 70 years and more, participated. After an overnight fast, changes in systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), heart rate (HR), and stro ke volume (SV) were determined by Finapres beat-to-beat non-invasive BP mon itoring during a 20-min supine rest. The procedure was repeated in the heal thy subjects and geriatric patients on a second day. Results: Complete BP s tabilization was reached in each group within 5 min of supine rest, as SBP remained essentially unchanged and DBP did not change significantly anymore after the fourth minute. In the heart failure patients, HR decreased and S V increased until the twelfth minute of rest. The SBP, DBP, HR, and SV chan ges during supine rest showed good reproducibility. Conclusions: A span of 5 min of supine rest ensured achievement of reliable and reproducible basel ine BP values by Finapres in elderly subjects. However, we recommend at lea st 12 min of rest to obtain full haemodynamic stability in elderly patients with diminished cardiac compliance and diastolic function.