New Factor Identified in Falls Among Older Adults

New Study Warns Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Can Help Prevent Severe, Life-Altering Injuries in Some Older Adults

A new study warns that monitoring blood pressure at home can help prevent serious and life-changing injuries in some seniors.

According to Ambassador Arjan, based on the results presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association on high blood pressure, seniors over 78 years of age who have "masked" high blood pressure are 70% more at risk of falling, compared to those whose disease has been correctly diagnosed.

Occult hypertension is a condition in which an elderly person's blood pressure appears normal at the doctor's office, but is persistently high at home, the researchers explained.

The findings of this study show that in addition to measuring blood pressure in the office, recording blood pressure at home can be an important method to identify hidden high blood pressure and the risk of falling in the elderly.

Fluctuations in blood pressure can increase the risk of falling by causing dizziness or fainting.

The findings were based on data from more than 750 seniors participating in a long-term study of heart disease risk. The age of the participants varied between 78 and 98 years.

The researchers also compared the rate of falls in people with "hidden" high blood pressure with patients with "white coat" high blood pressure. In "white coat" hypertension, blood pressure numbers are high at the doctor's office but low when measured at home.

Among the participants, 17% had white coat hypertension, 15% had hidden hypertension, and 33% had normal blood pressure.

For each person, blood pressure measurements were taken several times at home and at the doctor's office.

According to these researchers, after about a year, almost one out of four people (23%) had fallen at least once.

People with hidden hypertension were 70% more likely to fall, while the risk of falling was 39% lower in people with white coat hypertension.

According to these researchers, measuring blood pressure at home can provide useful health information for the elderly and - as the findings of previous studies have shown - for most people in the community.

The researchers presented their findings at the recent American Heart Association (AHA) meeting in Arlington, Virginia. The results reported in medical conferences should be considered as preliminary findings until they are published in reliable (peer-reviewed) scientific journals.