TY - JOUR
T1 - Frequency and Predictors of Falls Among Adults With Heart Failure
T2 - A Prospective Study
AU - DENFELD, QUIN E.
AU - GOODLIN, SARAH
AU - ABEDALWELI, R. A.N.D.
AU - ROBERTS DAVIS, M. A.R.Y.
AU - HIATT, SHIRIN O.
AU - LEE, CHRISTOPHER S.
AU - WINTERS-STONE, KERRI
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - Objective: Adults with heart failure (HF) may be at high risk for falling due to age, comorbidities and frailty; however, few studies have examined falls in HF. The purpose of this study was to quantify the frequency and predictors of falls over 1 year among adults with HF. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of adults with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class I–IV HF. After baseline assessment of physical frailty and clinical characteristics, participants self-reported falls every 3 months during 1 year. Comparative statistics were used to identify baseline differences between those who fell vs those who did not. A stepwise negative binomial regression model was used to identify predictors of fall rate over 1 year. Results: The sample (n = 111) was 63.4 ± 15.7 years old, 48% were women, 28% had HF with preserved ejection fraction, and 41% were frail. Over 1 year, 43 (39%) of participants reported at least 1 fall and 28 (25%) of participants reported 2+ falls. Among those who fell, 29 (67%) reported injurious falls. Those who fell had significantly higher body mass indexes and were more likely to have NYHA class III/IV, type 2 diabetes and HF with preserved ejection fraction and to meet slowness and physical exhaustion criteria than those who did not fall. The fall rate was elevated among those with type 2 diabetes and those meeting the slowness and physical exhaustion criteria for physical frailty. Conclusions: Nearly 40% of adults with HF experienced a fall within 1 year. Screening for comorbidities, slowness and exhaustion may help to identify those at risk for a fall.
AB - Objective: Adults with heart failure (HF) may be at high risk for falling due to age, comorbidities and frailty; however, few studies have examined falls in HF. The purpose of this study was to quantify the frequency and predictors of falls over 1 year among adults with HF. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of adults with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class I–IV HF. After baseline assessment of physical frailty and clinical characteristics, participants self-reported falls every 3 months during 1 year. Comparative statistics were used to identify baseline differences between those who fell vs those who did not. A stepwise negative binomial regression model was used to identify predictors of fall rate over 1 year. Results: The sample (n = 111) was 63.4 ± 15.7 years old, 48% were women, 28% had HF with preserved ejection fraction, and 41% were frail. Over 1 year, 43 (39%) of participants reported at least 1 fall and 28 (25%) of participants reported 2+ falls. Among those who fell, 29 (67%) reported injurious falls. Those who fell had significantly higher body mass indexes and were more likely to have NYHA class III/IV, type 2 diabetes and HF with preserved ejection fraction and to meet slowness and physical exhaustion criteria than those who did not fall. The fall rate was elevated among those with type 2 diabetes and those meeting the slowness and physical exhaustion criteria for physical frailty. Conclusions: Nearly 40% of adults with HF experienced a fall within 1 year. Screening for comorbidities, slowness and exhaustion may help to identify those at risk for a fall.
KW - Heart failure
KW - falls
KW - frailty
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cardfail.2022.09.011
DO - 10.1016/j.cardfail.2022.09.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 36243343
AN - SCOPUS:85143503062
SN - 1071-9164
VL - 29
SP - 414
EP - 418
JO - Journal of Cardiac Failure
JF - Journal of Cardiac Failure
IS - 3
ER -