Citation

Womack JA. Heart Lung 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Yale School of Nursing and a Health Sciences Researcher, at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, United States. Electronic address: julie.womack@yale.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.hrtlng.2020.03.016

PMID

32303362

Abstract

The age-adjusted incidence of heart failure in the US is declining. Overall incidence and prevalence, however, are increasing. This is likely due to the growing proportion of the US population that is 70+ years of age. 1 , 2 Heart failure treatments have also improved, which has led to longer survival with the condition. 2 As survival improves, we need to pay more attention to quality of life among those living with heart failure. Falls and other frailty-related conditions are important drivers of health-related quality of life and are thus important foci for the care and management of individuals living with heart failure. The article by Lee and colleagues 3 makes an important contribution to our knowledge about both heart failure and falls by highlighting their association in older adults and the need to develop fall prevention programs specific to the needs of this population. Strengths of this study include the large sample size and the ability to adjust for a number of important fall risk factors including prior falls, demographics, comorbidities, and psychiatric medications. In addition, the authors included a number of factors not often assessed when considering falls, including the impact of the physical and social environment. They also explored the association between functional risk factors (physical, cognitive, sensory, and urinary) and falls and found that while function accounts for some of this association, it does not account for all of it.

Language: en