Posts Tagged ‘Falls in The Elderly’
Falls in The Elderly: Evaluation after The Fall
Patient evaluation involves a complete physical examination, assessment of their mobility and activities and the appropriate laboratory tests.
The questions to be answered in this examination after the fall of an elderly are these:
a) Do you have an illness?
b) What medication you take?
c) Has failed to recover (for example, off the ground) after the fall?
d) What happened? Did you fall sharply or slid gently to the ground?
e) Did you notice signs of what previously was going to happen?
f) Was there any factor that could be considered as a precipitant? Read the rest of this entry »
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Falls in The Elderly: Medication and Environmental Factors
Medication
The risk of falls increases with certain drugs, including psychotropic drugs are included (such as tranquilizers, hypnotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics) and cardiovascular drugs such as digoxin, some antiarrhythmics and diuretics.
Alcohol consumption should be investigated, as even small doses can cause gait disorders and falls in the elderly.
Postural hypotension
Postural hypotension is defined as the drop in systolic blood pressure 20 mm Hg (mercury) when the patient goes from lying or sitting to standing position. This postural hypotension affects approximately 20% of the elderly and has been considered as the cause of 5% of falls. Read the rest of this entry »
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Falls in The Elderly: Causes
Causes
Neuromuscular disorders of balance and homeostasis age-related cardiovascular pose a risk of falls. The age results in the long term degeneration of mechanoreceptors mechanisms of the large joints like the knee, that signal to our consciousness about the position of body parts in space.
The elderly have more difficulty staying temporarily at one end (eg when they dress) than younger people, among other reasons because it decreases with age in muscle mass (power loss). It also impairs the mechanism that regulates blood pressure changes in the standing position and increases the risk of dehydration, resulting in decreased blood volume, defined as the volume of circulating blood through the circulatory system. Read the rest of this entry »
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Falls in The Elderly
In the U.S., approximately one third of people over 65 living in their homes fall at least once a year, while the percentage increases by half those living in nursing homes.
These falls causes other than traumatic injuries can be serious or accentuate the disability, emotional problems (such as depression or fear of falling), which leads to functional decline, social isolation and, in some cases, death.
Injuries from falls account for the sixth leading cause of death in the elderly. In the U.S. is estimated that approximately 70% of all deaths caused by falls (70,000 annually) occur in 13% of the population, which is what has 65 years or more. These declines affect the quality of life and accentuate functional impairment inherent in old age. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 8% [?]