123: Strategies for Managing Low Blood Pressure in People with Parkinson’s

Ever worked with a client with PD who had low blood pressure? Maybe they showed up with BP that surprised you. Maybe they felt symptoms and maybe they didn’t. Often their medical team has trouble managing their blood pressure because it can be affected by so many things and is a moving target. In today’s show we share a case example as well as tangible steps and strategies for managing low BP in your clients with PD so they stop getting passed off from provider to provider to solve it.

Top strategies from a talk by Horacio Kaufmann, MD from World Parkinson Congress 2016:

• Have your client drink 500 ml / 16.9 oz of water in the moment (add electrolytes if applicable)
• Put an abdominal binder low and tight on their abdomen
• Exercise: try boxing, upper extremity exercise with light weights or resistance bands, arm bike, recumbent bike
• Once stabilized be sure to work with the client in multiple positions to help their body accommodate (use clinical judgment based on your client when or if this is appropriate)

PD meds articles from PFT meeting notes:

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/action/showPdf?pii=S0025-6196%2820%2930152-X

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/action/showPdf?pii=S0025-6196%2811%2965259-2

“Diagnosis and treatment of orthostatic hypotension” recent publication with Dr. Kaufmann https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35841911/

Abdominal binder option: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DLL0CS/ref=cm_sw_r_api_i_FWAV1V9Z6EE8SV2CPK5A_0