Can Echocardiographic Findings Predict Falls in Older Persons?

Can Echocardiographic Findings Predict Falls in Older Persons?

BACKGROUND The European and American guidelines state the need for echocardiography in patients with syncope. 50% of older adults with syncope present with a fall. Nonetheless, up to now no data have been published addressing echocardiographic abnormalities in older fallers. METHOD AND FINDINGS In order to determine the association between echocardiographic abnormalities and falls in older ad...

Falls Prevention for Older Persons

Falls in older persons. Causes and interventions.

Falls in older persons are an important cause of injury, disability, and death. They are also important as an indicator of decline in functional ability, requiring a careful assessment of contributing factors, in both the patient and the environment, with corrective intervention when possible. A fear of falls contributes to the problem by causing inactivity and deconditioning, further increasin...

Hospitalisations due to falls in older persons.

This paper describes hospitalisations due to falls among people aged 65 years and over resident in the Eastern Region of Ireland. Of the 2,029 hospitalisations recorded for 2002, 78% were female and 68% were aged 75 years and over. Fractures accounted for 1,697 or 84% of cases with nearly half of them (841) sustained to the hip. Females were more likely to have a limb fracture whereas males wer...

Falls and Fall-Prevention in Older Persons: Geriatrics Meets Spaceflight!

This paper provides a general overview of key physiological consequences of microgravity experienced during spaceflight and of important parallels and connections to the physiology of aging. Microgravity during spaceflight influences cardiovascular function, cerebral autoregulation, musculoskeletal, and sensorimotor system performance. A great deal of research has been carried out to understand...