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Decreased and Increased Baroreceptor Sensitivity Are Associated With Incident Heart Failure in the Elderly: A 15-Year

Bozena Ostrowska1, Carina Blomström-Lundqvist1,2, Lars Lind1

  • 1Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Clinical Cardiology
|April 20, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Decreased baroreceptor sensitivity (BRS) may indicate risk for congestive heart failure (CHF) in older adults. Interestingly, increased BRS was also linked to CHF, a novel finding that warrants further investigation for early risk identification.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Gerontology
  • Physiology

Background:

  • Congestive heart failure (CHF) presents a significant mortality risk.
  • Early identification of at-risk individuals is crucial for improving CHF prognosis.
  • Reduced baroreceptor sensitivity (BRS) has been previously linked to higher CHF mortality.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if diminished baroreceptor sensitivity (BRS) can identify elderly individuals at risk of developing congestive heart failure (CHF).
  • To explore the association between BRS and incident CHF in a senior population.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study.
  • Inclusion of 1016 individuals aged 70 years.
  • Measurement of BRS using sequence analysis (BRSseq) and spectral analysis (BRSαHF, BRSαLF) with a 15-year follow-up.

Main Results:

  • 98 out of 844 individuals developed CHF during follow-up.
  • Both decreased and increased BRSseq were associated with incident CHF after multiple adjustments (p=0.027).
  • BRSαHF showed a similar association in a sex-adjusted model (p=0.017) but not after multiple adjustments; BRSαLF was not related to incident CHF.

Conclusions:

  • Diminished BRS is associated with incident CHF in the elderly population.
  • A novel finding indicated that increased BRS is also linked to CHF, albeit to a lesser extent.
  • BRS may serve as a valuable tool for early CHF identification in clinical practice if findings are replicated.
Abstract

Keywords:
alpha indexbaroreceptor sensitivitybaroreceptorsincident heart failuresequence analysisspectral analysis

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