After the exclusion of the 7 patients with poor blood circulation, 69 patients were retained for the haemodynamic responses analysis. Sociodemographic characteristics The demographic and clinical characteristics of patients are summarised in Table 1. and completed a passive head up tilting to 60o (HUT-60) test on an automated Busulfan (Myleran, Busulfex) tilt table. ECG signals, continuous and oscillometric BP measurements and impedance cardiography were recorded. The following variables were derived from these measurements: heart rate (HR) stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR), number of baroreceptor events, and baroreceptor effectiveness index (BEI). Results The forty-four participants who were classified as fallers (57.9%) had a lower number of baroreceptor events (6.58.5 vs 1416.7, p = .027) and BEI (20.824.2% vs 33.423.3%, p = .025). In addition, fallers experienced a significantly larger drop in systolic (-6.410.9 vs -0.47.7 mmHg, p = .011) and diastolic (-2.77.3 vs 1.86 mmHg, p = .027) oscillometric BP from supine to HUT-60 compared with non-fallers. None of the variables taken for the analysis were significantly associated with falls in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusions This cross-sectional comparison indicates that, at rest, HD patients with a positive history of falls present with a lower count of baroreceptor sequences and BEI. Short-term BP regulation warrants further investigation as BP drops during a passive orthostatic challenge may be implicated in the aetiology of falls in HD. Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) global report on falls prevention in older age [1] states that Busulfan (Myleran, Busulfex) approximately 30% of people aged 65 years and older experience at least one fall every year, and nearly 50% of all injury-related hospital admissions are attributed to falls. Stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD-5) patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD) therapy have also been reported to have a higher risk of falling than the general population [2]. Prospective cohort studies of HD patients, with a 12-month follow-up, report that 26.3% [3] to 47% [4] experience at least one fall per annum. Patients who fell were observed to be at increased risk of adverse outcomes such as admission to nursing homes, higher number and duration of hospitalisations [3] and death [5]. A few prospective cohort studies have explored the association of potential clinical risk factors and falls in CKD-5 patients undergoing HD therapy with physical frailty primarily, older age, Busulfan (Myleran, Busulfex) comorbidity, previous history of falls, and polypharmacy [2C4, 6] appearing to play a central role in the aetiology of falling. A recent review and summary of published evidence on falls in people with CKD, concluded that very few adequate quality studies in this area exist and many studies present with conflicting findings with regard to the importance of age, gender, different comorbidities, HD therapy and other physical frailty indicators, on the incidence and severity of falls in people with CKD-5 [7]. We already know that aging, history of falls and physical frailty are the most consistent risk factors that stand out from the rest, as predictors of future falls in the general geriatric Busulfan (Myleran, Busulfex) and CKD population [7]. Moreover, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most prevalent comorbidity in the CKD population [8] and indices of poor cardiovascular function such as arterial stiffness [9], impaired blood pressure (BP) responses to a passive orthostatic challenge [10], and antihypertensive drug therapies [11, 12], have been linked to a higher prevalence or Rabbit polyclonal to Bcl6 incidence of falls in elderly but otherwise healthy individuals. In two prospective cohort studies, a lower pre-dialysis systolic BP was found to be associated with falling status in a group of elderly dialysis patients [4, 13] suggesting that falls might be mediated by low BP spells in these patients. Other researchers Busulfan (Myleran, Busulfex) suggested that autonomic failure and the significant fluid shifts associated with HD therapy might place HD patients at an increased risk of postural dizziness and hypotensive symptoms, possibly resulting in falls [14]. In addition, Cook et al., [4] reported that 31% of falls experienced by HD individuals occurred during the transition from your seated to the upright position, suggesting that irregular BP regulation, leading to dizziness spells, and potentially orthostatic hypotension (OH), may be implicated in the aetiology of falls in these individuals. All these.