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Risk factors for heart failure in the elderly: a prospective community-based study
Y T Chen1, V Vaccarino, C S Williams
1Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8025, USA.
The American Journal of Medicine
|June 23, 1999
Summary
Older adults face heart failure risks from factors like diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Managing these conditions and preventing myocardial infarction is key for heart failure prevention in the elderly.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Geriatrics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Heart failure (HF) risk factors are not well-defined in older adults.
- Understanding these factors is crucial for targeted prevention strategies in aging populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate associations between traditional cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidity, and psychosocial factors and incident heart failure (HF) over 10 years.
- To identify key predictors of HF development in a community-based elderly cohort.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated 1,749 elderly individuals (age ≥65) without prior HF, myocardial infarction (MI), or angina.
- Utilized Cox proportional hazards regression models to analyze risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) over 13,811 person-years of follow-up.
Main Results:
- 173 cases of incident heart failure were identified.
- Independent predictors of HF included male sex (RR=1.7), older age (RR=3.0 for ≥85 years), diabetes (RR=2.9), high pulse pressure (RR=2.3 for ≥70 mm Hg), and obesity (RR=1.6 for BMI ≥28 kg/m²).
- Myocardial infarction during follow-up was a significant predictor (RR=21).
Conclusions:
- Age and traditional cardiovascular risk factors are significantly associated with heart failure development in the elderly.
- Preventive strategies should prioritize management of diabetes, blood pressure, and weight.
- Prevention and management of myocardial infarction are critical for reducing heart failure risk in older adults.