Older adults who suffer a fall are twice as likely to have a common type of irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation, according to a new study. "These results are certainly surprising, as an association between AF and falls has not been shown in the general population before," said Dr Sofie Jansen of the Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Certain arrhythmias are known to cause fainting or blackouts, but this is the first study to show the link with falls, Jansen is quoted in Reuters Health as saying. She and her colleagues analysed data on 4,800 adults over age 50 in Ireland who completed questionnaires, personal interviews and physical health assessments, including electrocardiograms, between 2009 and 2011.
According to the study, 20% of participants reported falling at least once in the past year. Fainting and blackouts were less common. Overall, 3% of people had atrial fibrillation (AF): about 1% of those ages 50 to 64, 4% of those up to age 74, and almost 8% of those ages 75 and older. More than a third did not know they had AF before the study.
Almost 30% of those with AF had fallen over the past year compared to about 20% of those without AF, the researchers reported. After accounting for other risk factors that might contribute to falls, the authors found that having AF doubled people's odds of falling. In addition, 10% of people with AF reported fainting or blacking out compared to four percent of those without the arrhythmia.
There are several ways AF could cause a fall, Jansen said. "AF can impair the ability of the heart to pump blood around the body, including the brain," she said. "This can lead to a reduction in the amount of oxygen going to the brain, causing either a faint or black-out (syncope), or dizziness resulting in a fall in a person who is already unstable."
The irregular heartbeat can also be tied to stroke and hypertension, which can lead to degenerative changes in the brain. "All of these changes in the brain can also affect walking, mobility, and other conditions that affect fall risk, such as depression and dementia," Jansen said.
But, she emphasised, this study did not show that AF causes falls, only that it is significantly more common among people who fall. "Falls are very common in older adults," Jansen said. "People with AF have an even greater risk of falls, and when they suffer from falls they should definitely mention this to their physician, as there are several treatment or prevention options for falls." "Because falls usually have several causes or contributing factors, recognition and treatment of all of these factors is vital to reduce fall risk," she said.
[link url="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/13/us-health-falls-atrial-fibrillation-idUSKBN0M91LC20150313"]Full Reuters Health report[/link]
[link url="http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/02/20/ageing.afv017.abstract"]Age and Ageing abstract[/link]