Atrial Fibrillation and Falls: A Mechanistic or Age-Confounded Relationship?

Falls and syncope are associated with increasing age and cause considerable morbidity and mortality in the elderly.1 Beyond age, traditionally recognized risk factors for falls include unsteady gait, muscle weakness, impaired cognition, and polypharmacy. Malik et  al2 present a detailed systematic review evaluating the role of atrial fibrillation (AF) in falls/syncope and conclude that AF is independently associated with falls (odds ratio [OR], 1.19; 95% CI, 1.07-1.33) and syncope (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.20-2.94) based on a meta-analysis of 7 and 3 observation al studies, respectively.
Source: Mayo Clinic Proceedings - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research